The bark on major branches resembles that of P. sylvestris in being reddish brown with papery flakes, but it can also be more like P. mugo and greyish and persistent.

(The images on the left perfectly demonstrate these traits) Seed cones resemble those of P. mugo, with strongly developed apophyses on one side, and are often more robust than those of P. sylvestris.

[4] The Rhætic pine (Pinus × rhaetica) occurs occasionally throughout the regions where the two species overlap, from the northern side of the French Pyrenees through the Alps to the Carpathians in Slovakia, usually at the junction of the sub-alpine habitat of P. mugo and the montane forests of P.

[5] The Rhætic pine has been introduced into some Baltic states, with very sparse populations present in western Lithuania.

[6] In Poland, the Rhætic pine is considered an endangered species with a high risk of extinction in nature in the near future.