Virginia Tech Dendrology

Japanese red pine Pinaceae Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc. symbol: PIDE5
Leaf: Evergreen needles in fascicles of 2, slender, twisted, 3 to 5 inches long, appear tufted on the branches, dark green, a common cultivar 'Oculus-draconis' is marked with two yellow bands.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males cylindrical, yellowish in clusters, females yellow-green to purple.
Fruit: Cones, singly or clustered, about 2 inches long, dull brown with a short spine.
Twig: Young stems are green and smooth, developing flaky orange-red appearance.
Bark: Upper crown bark is bright orangish and peeling, very similar to Pinus sylvestris, older bark develops plates and becomes gray.
Form: Small to medium sized tree that can reach heights of 80 feet or more (most seen in the landscape are much smaller), trunk is often leaning or wind swept looking, branches are typically horizontal.
Looks like: Japanese black pine - Scots pine - red pine - Virginia pine

Additional Range Information: Pinus densiflora 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