Shape | Globe to broad umbrella-like at maturity. |
Habitat | The Mediterranean region in Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Levant. |
Bark/Stem Description | The bark is thick, red-brown and deeply fissured into broad vertical plates. |
Leaf Description | The flexible mid-green leaves are needle-like, in fascicles of two, and are 10-20 cm long. Young trees up to 5-10 years old bear juvenile leaves, which are very different, single (not paired), 2-4 cm long and glaucous blue-green. |
Fruit Description | The cones are broad ovoid, 8-15 cm long, and take 36 months to mature, longer than any other pine. The seeds are large, 2 cm long, pale brown with a powdery black coating that rubs off easily, and have a rudimentary 4-8 mm wing that falls off very early after dispersion. |