Pinus mugo Turra

Small tree or multi-stemmed shrub. Bark peeling in small thin flakes, dark brownish grey, often trunk appearing rather smooth. Shoots green, eventually brown, glabrous. Buds broad-cylindric or cylindric-ovoid, resinous; scales tightly appressed, purplish. Foliage often dense, tending to be directed forward. Lvs 2 per fascicle, (2)-3-7-(9) cm × 1-1.5 mm, dark green, rigid, ± curved but not twisted; apex rather pungent; resin canals marginal; sheath c. 1.5 cm long, soon wearing away except for basal fringe. ♂ strobili < 1 cm long, broad-cylindric. Conelets shortly stalked or subsessile; scales prominently mucronate. Mature cones ± erect, subsessile, not persisting long after maturity, 2.5-5.5 × 2.5-5 cm when open, ovoid or conic-ovoid, dark brown, ± symmetric; apophyses flat or sometimes convex on upper side, especially in slightly asymmetric cones; mucro very small and not armed. Seed wing ± oblong, c. 1 cm long.

Mountainous regions, an erect tree at lower elevations, growing mainly on nutrient poor slopes, becoming shrub-like on exposed mountain slopes and ridges at higher elevations to the subalpine level; at elevations from 600-2,700 metres.

The young branches and leaves are use to make a health drink. A vanillin flavouring is obtained as a by-product of other resins from the pulpwood. The cones and buds are harvested in spring then dried and these gradually drip syrup that is boiled down to produce pine syrup that is mixed with sugar.

Plants are not self fertile. More than one tree is necessary for cones. Plants can be grown from seeds. The germination of stored seeds can be improved by cold treatment.