[Wikipedia] Range, Prehistoric occurrence: Pinus monophylla, the single-leaf pinyon, (alternatively spelled piņon) is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California. It occurs at moderate altitudes from 1,200 to 2,300 m (3,900 to 7,500 ft), rarely as low as 950 m (3,120 ft) and as high as 2,900 m (9,500 ft). It is widespread and often abundant in this region, forming extensive open woodlands, often mixed with junipers in the Pinyon-juniper woodland plant community. Single-leaf pinyon is the world's only one-needled pine.[2] Prehistoric occurrence Pinus monophylla has been studied with regard to prehistoric occurrence based upon fossil needles found in packrat middens and fossil pollen records.[5] All three of these sub-types of single-needled pinyon have maintained distinctive ranges over the last 40,000 years, although the northerly species (Pinus monophylla) expanded greatly throughout Utah and Nevada since the end of the Pleistocene, 11,700 years ago. The southern California variety has been found to occur within Joshua Tree National Park throughout the last 47,000 years.[6] (link added by Mary Ann Machi)