Bark: Large branches reddish-brown, broken into plates.
Twigs: Slender, brown, roughened.
Leaves: Needles in clusters of 2, stiff, to 3 inches long, gray-green.
Flowers: Staminate crowded into several yellow spikes up to ½ inch long; pistillate crowded into 1 to several clusters.
Fruit: Cones narrowly ovoid, to 2½ inches long, each scale comprising the cone without any prickles.
Uses: Often planted as an ornamental, Christmas trees.
Habitat: Planted in plantations in Illinois, rarely escaped.
Range: Native of Europe; widely planted in the eastern United States.
Distinguishing Features: The rather short, stiff, gray-green needles in clusters of 2 distinguish this pine.
