Needles remain on the tree for two years.
Cones are fully grown in the summer of the second season, opening to discharge seed that autumn. Cones are 4-8 inches long, curved. The bark is deeply divided into broad ridges that are covered with purplish scales. The tree commonly attains 100 feet in height and 4 feet in diameter, with a tall, straight stem and pyramidal crown. Branches are in definite whorls of long lateral branches sweeping upward in graceful curves.