Its habitat is located in the central European Alps between 1400 and 2500 meters of altitude. This tree appreciates siliceous or even very acidic soils.

It is a monoecious tree: male flowers (purple then yellow catkins) and female flowers (red catkins) bloom on the same footing.

Its growth is slow, it takes 30 years to become a shrub 1.30 m high.

Height : 20 to 35 meters high.

Bark : greenish gray and smooth when the tree is young but peels off over time.

Needles : dark green, dense and rigid, about 8 cm and grouped by 5 (by 2 in other pines).

Fruits : The cones are stocky and purplish, in the shape of a truncated cylinder. The scales are broad and rounded. In the first year, the cones fall without opening.

Use : Realization of sculptures (soft wood), manufacture of furniture and cuckoo.