Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

gray pine Pinaceae Pinus sabiniana Douglas ex Douglas Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: PISA2
Leaf: Evergreen needles, 8 to 12 inches long, 3 per fascicle, distinctly gray-green in color with many lines of stomatal bloom, slender and drooping.
Flower: Species is monoecious; male cones are yellow; female cones are dark purple.
Fruit: Large woody cones (6 to 10 inches long), egg-shaped when open; cone scales very long, thick, sharply keeled, and tipped with a large, thick spine that may be straight or curved; remain on tree for many years. Large oblong seed with detachable wing.
Twig: Stout, rough, orange-brown.
Bark: Mature bark is dark gray, thick, and has irregular ridges and furrows; somewhat scaly.
Form: Moderate sized evergreen conifer (40 to 70 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet in diameter) with crooked, forked trunk; thin, open, irregular gray-green crown, often rounded, with large heavy cones.
 Looks like: Coulter pine - ponderosa pine - Jeffrey pine - knobcone pine

gray pine leaf image
gray pine flower image
gray pine fruit image
gray pine twig image
gray pine bark image
gray pine form image
gray pine map image

Additional Range Information: Pinus sabiniana is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information