Pinus stormiae

Pinus stormiae is classified in the subsection Ponderosae in the section named Trifoliae, part of the genus Pinus in the family Pinaceae.^[7]

Pinus stormiae was first described as a variety of Pinus arizonica in 1945 by the botanist Maximino Martínez.^[2][8] It was recombined as a variety of Pinus ponderosa in 1990 by John Silba (1961-2015), who then later published the combination as a subspecies of P. arizonica in 2009. In 2021, a genetic study found that its treatment in Pinus arizonica left that species paraphyletic,^[9] and in 2024 it was raised to the rank of species on the basis of this and its distinctive morphology.^[10][2]

There is disagreement about its status as a species. It is listed as an accepted species by Plants of the World Online and World Plants,^[2][11] but is listed as an accepted variety of Pinus arizonica by World Flora Online.^[12] Similarly, when it was evaluated in 2013 by the IUCN and in 1994 by NatureServe it was as a variety.^[1][13]

The species name is derived from its description of a variety named in honor of the American journalist Marian Isabel Storm.^[4] In its native Mexican range it is known by the Spanish common name of pino real meaning "royal pine" or as pino blanco meaning "white pine",^[14][3] however both Pinus teocote and Pinus engelmannii are known as pino real and eight species are sometimes known as pino blanco.^[15]

The majority of the species range is in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, but there is also a significant populations in southern Coahuila.^[5] There are also scattered populations in the north of Coahuila, a small one in the southwestern corner of Tamaulipas, and isolated populations in San Luis Potosí.^[6] In the United States it only grows in the Chisos Mountains western in Texas, close to the Mexican border.^[16] It can be found between elevations of 1,500 and 3,000 m (4,900 and 9,800 ft).^[5] The main part of its range is approximately 6,685 square kilometers (2,581 sq mi) with the total area occupied 768 km² (297 sq mi) in three or four locations.^[1]

It grows in the Sierra Madre Oriental, often on west or southwest facing dry mountainsides.^[6] They often grow together, but also grow with oaks, junipers, and other pine species like Mexican pinyons and smooth-bark Mexican pines.^[4]

In the 2011 IUCN Red List Pinus stormiae was evaluated as vulnerable, though at that time it was considered a variety of the Arizona pine. The population of the pines is decreasing in its range due to logging.^[1] Likewise, when NatureServe evaluated it in 1994 they considered it to be a vulnerable variety (T3) and rated it as critically imperiled at the state level (S1) in Texas.^[13]

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