Trees to 21m; trunk to 1. diam., straight to twisted and contorted; crown conic, becoming rounded to irregularly spreading. Bark pale gray, from distance appearing whitish to light gray and smooth, in age separating into thin plates. Branches spreading to ascending, often persistent to trunk base; twigs stout, pale red-brown, with light brown, often glandular puberulence, somewhat roughened by elevated scars, aging gray to pale gray-brown. Buds ovoid, light red-brown, 0.8--1cm; scale margins entire. Leaves 5 per fascicle, mostly ascending and upcurved, persisting 5--8 years, 3-- ´ 1--1.5(--2)mm, mostly connivent, deep yellow-green, abaxial surface less so, adaxial surface conspicuously whitened by stomates, margins rounded, minutely serrulate distally, apex conic-acute; sheath 0.8--1.2cm, shed early. Pollen cones cylindro-ovoid, ca. 10--15mm, scarlet. Seed cones remaining on tree (unless dislodged by animals), not opening naturally but through animal agency, spreading, symmetric, broadly ovoid to depressed-ovoid or nearly globose, 4--8cm, dull gray-to black-purple, sessile to short-stalked; scales thin-based and easily broken off; apophyses much thickened, strongly cross-keeled, tip upcurved, brown; umbo terminal, short, incurved, broadly triangular, tip acute. Seeds obovoid; body 7--11mm, chestnut brown, wingless. 2 n =24.
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A soft pine. It is small and upright and with many stems. It can be low lying at high altitudes. It can form a single stemmed tree 20 m high and with a trunk 50 cm across under good growing conditions. The needles are in bundles of 5 and are 4-9 cm long. They are stout and stiff. They are slightly curved and dark yellowish-green. They are clustered towards the edges of the twigs and the edges are smooth. The needles remain on the tree for 4-8 years. The cones are round and 5-8 cm long. They occur at right angles to the branch. There are 30-50 scales and they are thick, tough and pointed. They do not have prickles. The cones only open slightly at maturity. Cones fall off. The seeds are large and 10 mm long. They are wingless. They have a heavy seed coat.
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