Swiss Stone Pine              PI-nus sem-BRA

• Conifer, evergreen tree, 35-70 ft (10-20 m) tall, wide crown in its habitat, but in cultivation acutely ovate or narrowly conical, branched from the ground up.  In first year, stem covered with dense, orange colored pubescence.  Five needles per bundle, stiff, straight, 5-8 cm long, only 1 mm wide, inside of needles have bluish-white stomatic lines, leaf sheath (2 mm) falls the first year, needles persist for 4-5 years.  Cones terminal, short-stalked, erect-ovoid, apex blunt, 5-8 cm long, purplish brown when mature.  The cones do not open but fall to the ground, decompose, and the seeds released by birds.
• Sun.  Does best in well-drained, loamy, slightly acid soil.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native to mountains of central Europe and southern Asia.