About Pinus arizonica var. cooperi (C.E.Blanco) Farjon
This taxon is Pinus arizonica var. cooperi (C.E.Blanco) Farjon, a variety of Pinus arizonica, which is commonly called the Arizona pine. Arizona pine is a medium-sized pine tree native to northern Mexico, and southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and western Texas in the United States. Mature trees reach 25 to 35 meters in height, with a maximum trunk diameter of 1.2 meters (equivalent to 3 feet 11 inches). Its needles grow in bundles of 3, 4, or 5, and fascicles with 5 needles are the most common. This variation in bundle size may indicate that the species hybridizes with the closely related ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). Its cones grow singly, in pairs, or in whorls of three, and measure 5 to 11 centimeters long. Arizona pine provides construction timber, and is heavily harvested to be used as firewood. Extensive cutting has reduced the range of the once-widespread Arizona pine forests, with the most significant reduction occurring in Mexico.
