A large tree in the Rockies and Western Mountains (Mexico to Canada) and the most important pine in the west (found in every western state except Kansas. The bark on older trees often has large, flat orange plates; sometimes with a citrus/vanilla smell. Buds may have resin droplets. Needles are 2 or 3 per fascicle, about 7" long, and dark green (like P. nigra) to yellow-green. Cones are about 4", ovoid, usually leaving basal scales attached to the twig when shed, and armed with a slender, often deciduous spine.