Faint blotches may be seen on the hindbody or tail. There are 29 dorsal scale rows at midbody and the scales are keeled . The pupils are round. The snout is somewhat pointed and covered by a large triangular, almost cone-shaped, scale. There are four large scales on top of the snout, rather than two as in most other snakes.
Juveniles are dark toward the head, patterned toward the tail, and have pink to tan bellies.
The black pine snake occurs in Florida only as an intergrade with the Florida pine snake. The intergrades are found in the panhandle west of the Escambia River. Pure black pine snakes range from southwestern Alabama to extreme eastern Louisiana. This subspecies requires dry sandy soils for burrowing. It is found in pine and mixed hardwood forests.