Search Fact Sheets Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese black pine Pinaceae Pinus thunbergii Parl. Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet play symbol: PITH2
Leaf: Evergreen needles in fascicles of 2, 3 to 5 inches in length, dark green and stout, persisting 2 to 4 years.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males reddish-yellow, in clusters near branch tips appearing in early spring; females reddish and egg-shaped.
Fruit: Woody egg-shaped cone, 2 to 3 inches long, 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide, light brown in color, unarmed or with a very minute prickle.
Twig: Light brown, glabrous, in later years turning grayish; buds are large, quite prominent and light reddish brown.
Bark: Dark gray, breaking into irregular, rough scaly plates.
Form: Irregular, wind swept form reaching up to 80 feet tall; in the landscape they often resemble a large Bonzai tree.
 Looks like: red pine - Austrian pine - Japanese red pine

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Additional Range Information: Pinus thunbergii is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information
All material 2021 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