tree 15-20 m tall with a shapeless (crooked) trunk and irregularly branched sparse crown
the peculiarity is that 2 - 3 whorls of branches can form on the annual shoot
bark red-brown
bark black, relatively thin – scaly
Buds
buds are oblong-ovoid, yellow-brown
bud scales are pressed, strongly resinous
Leaves (assimilation organs)
assimilation organs are needle-shaped
needles are 2 each on brachyblasts, 3-5 cm long, firm, twisted along the axis, sticking out on all sides
slightly saw-toothed along the edge
last 3-4 years on the twig
Flowers
wood monoecious, flowers unisex, blooms IV – V
male (♂) cones are ovoid, yellow, grouped at the base of this year's shoot
female (♀) cones are ovoid to spherical, red, short-stalked, located at the end, but also on the sides of this year's shoot, 2-3 in whorls
Fruits – seeds
fruit is a cone, 3 - 5 x 2 - 3 cm in size, conical, sessile, sickle-like curved towards the branch, lasts on the tree for several years (10-20 years)
ripens in the fall of the second year
Extension
originally grows on the North American continent - Canada, the north of the USA, where it forms homogeneous stands on poor soils (rocky places, swamps)
it was introduced to Europe in 1783
Ecology
in Slovakia it resists low temperatures very well
Significance
in the past it was used for afforestation of the poorest soils (where it initially grew better than domestic Scots pine )
as park trees
greening and stabilization of embankment and excavation slopes
