crown is typical - umbrella-shaped (up to hemispherical) fairly high-set (no other pine tree has such a crown)
bark when young is gray to light gray
later the longitudinally cracked bark forms into flat plates, the surface of the plates is yellow-brown to reddish
Leaves (assimilation organs)
assimilation organs are needle-like
needles grow two at a time on brachyblasts - on smooth yellow-brown shoots
needles are grey-green, firm, deeply grooved on both sides, 10-15 cm long
two needles on brachyblast - subsection Pinea
Flowers
wood monoecious, flowers of different sexes, cone-shaped (similar to other pines)
flowers late spring to early summer
Fruits – seeds
the fruit is a cone, broadly ovoid to spherical when ripe, light brown to brown-red, shiny, 8 - 14 x 10 cm large
the navel is in the center of the labellum (section Pinaster)
the cone ripens in the third year in the fall and opens only in the fourth year
the seed is wingless with a hard shell (pine nuts - pignols), oval, light brown, grooved, 2 cm long
Extension
Tertiary relic
its original home is the coastal areas of Spain, France, Italy, the Balkans, Asia Minor, the eastern Black Sea and the coast of the Middle East
today it is no longer possible to say where it was brought by man and where it grew naturally, because it is a tree that has been culturally cultivated since the earliest times.
Ecology
grows on sandy soils and rocks near the coast
likes acidic soils
Significance
decorative with its typical appearance - a high-set, densely leafy umbrella-shaped crown
it was grown not only for its valuable wood, but also as "fruit", because its wingless seeds - "pine nuts" (pignols) taste like almonds and are used in confectionery (since Roman times)
