The stone pine is a Mediterranean coniferous tree with a characteristic umbrella-shaped crown, cultivated since antiquity for its edible seeds, pine nuts.
| Kingdom | Plantae |
| Division | Pinophyta |
| Class | Coniferopsida |
| Order | Pinidae |
| Family | Pinaceae |
| Genus | Pinus |
| Species | Pinus pinea |
The stone pine usually reaches between 12 and 20 metres in height. Young specimens have a rounded crown, while adults develop the umbrella-like silhouette so characteristic of the species, with crowns up to 8 metres across.
Its leaves are needles of up to 20 cm grouped in pairs. The cones measure between 10 and 15 cm and take three years to ripen; from them come pine nuts, hard-shelled seeds highly prized in cooking.
It is a species native to the Mediterranean basin, adapted to dry, hot summers. In Spain, Andalusia has around 200,000 hectares of this species.
The pine nut has traditionally been considered an aphrodisiac food and is used in confectionery and as a garnish for salads. Spain is the world's largest producer of pine nuts.
