[4][5] Another candidate for the oldest limber pine was identified in 2006 near the Alta Ski Area in Utah; called "Twister", the tree was confirmed to be at least 1,700 years old and thought to be even older.

In favorable conditions, it makes a tree to 20 metres (65 feet), rarely 25 m (80 ft) tall.

[9] One of the world's oldest living limber pine trees grows on the banks of the upper North Saskatchewan River at Whirlpool Point in Alberta.

In limber pine, the cones are 6–15 cm (2+1⁄4–6 in) long[7] where the species overlap, green when immature, and open to release the seeds; the scales are not fragile.

In whitebark pine, the cones are 4–7 cm (1+1⁄2–2+3⁄4 in) long, dark purple when immature, and do not open on drying, but are fragile and are pulled apart by birds to release the seeds.

The most useful clue here is that limber pine needles are entire (smooth when rubbed gently in both directions), whereas Western white pine needles are finely serrated (feeling rough when rubbed gently from tip to base).

It is also found through the Great Basin[7] states of Nevada and Utah, in the eastern Sierra Nevada and White Mountains of Northern California, and in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California.

In the northern half of its range, it grows in the montane zone near the lower tree line; in the middle of its range between the 45th and 40th parallels, it grows on windswept sites in the montane and subalpine zones; and in the southern part of its range, it grows mainly at high elevations in the subalpine zone near the upper tree line.

[14][7] There is evidence that limber pines co-evolved with Clark's nutcrackers, which are the primary dispersers of the seeds.

It is also grown as a Christmas tree, liked for the soft needles but with stiffer branches than an Eastern white pine.