Tree to 20 m tall with a broad round crown. Bark red-grey, deeply fissured. Winter buds 6–20 mm long, not resinous; scales persistent, fringed, apically recurved. Leaves in pairs, 10–15 cm long, glossy, dark green. Female cones solitary, sessile, pendulous, glossy brown, ovoid, 10–15 cm long, persistent; exposed portion of scale rounded with a small dorsal point. Seeds with a rudimentary wing (less than 3 mm long).
VVP, VRiv, GipP, OtP, Gold, CVU, NIS. Also naturalised WA, NSW. Native to Portugal and Spain. Cultivated throughout the Mediterranean for its edible seeds. Grown as an ornamental in Victoria where it has become naturalised.