Although their common names may indicate otherwise, some exotic species such as Norfolk Island pine and Australian pine are not true pines and so are not included here. Sand pine occurs on both the Atlantic and Gulf coastal sand dunes as far south as Dade County on the east coast and Lee County on the west coast. It also occurs in pure stands on deep, dry, infertile acid sands of the interior such as the Big Scrub area of the Ocala National Forest, the world's largest area of sand pine. Sand pine is a small to medium sized tree with a conical crown and persistent low lateral branches. It grows in open stands.
Young trees have brownish-tan smooth trunks.
The bark of large trees remains fairly smooth particularly near the top. Sand pine twigs are many branched, smooth and slender. Trunk and branches of sand pines are frequently twisted. This, and their relatively small size make them unsuitable for timber but perfectly acceptable for pulpwood use. Mature cones are 2 to 4 inches long and may persist on the tree for many years open or unopened.