Japanese black pine Pinaceae Pinus thunbergii Parl. 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 Additional Range Information: Pinus thunbergii is planted in the USDA hardiness zones shown above and is not known to widely escape cultivaton. External Links: USDA Plants Database Horticulture © Copyright 2016, Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, all rights reserved. Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson