Tree to 40 m tall. Bark thin, pale greyish brown to yellow, shedding in plates. Winter buds 10–13 mm long, resinous; scales closely appressed. Leaves in clusters of (2–)3(–5), 13–30 cm long, glossy, pale green. Female cones solitary, stalked, pendulous, pale, becoming reddish brown, ovoid, 7–15 cm long, deciduous; exposed portion of scale angular with prominent recurved dorsal spine. Seed with a well-developed wing.
GipP, Gold, CVU, NIS. Also naturalised SA, NSW. Native to the west coast of North America.
In North America Pinus ponderosa is used for timber. Grown as an ornamental in Victoria where it has escaped cultivation near Beechworth.
