A two- (occasionally three-) needled, monoecious pine species, usually forming a slender single-stemmed tree up to 20 m tall, occasionally reaching 25 m tall, with deep roots. Bark is greyish, smooth at first, but finally fissured and exposing the reddish-brown or orange inner bark. Needles are pale green, usually 6-12 cm long, sometimes up to 15 cm, and less than 1 mm wide, borne on silvery-grey branches, usually abscising after the second year. Resin ducts are marginal with a leaf sheath 8 mm long. Cones are moderately to highly serotinous, conical, 5-12 cm long, turned downwards, grey to reddish-brown, usually opening in the third year.
Aleppo pine is a drought-tolerant, fast growing conifer with a wide range of uses. It is not used for commercial forestry anywhere in the world, mainly because of its poor stem form and low-quality timber. It is, however, very widely planted for restoration of degraded sites, especially within its large natural range. Its tolerance of poor, degraded or stony soils makes it very suitable for this purpose.
