[3] The stone pine is a coniferous evergreen tree that can exceed 25 metres (80 feet) in height, but 12–20 m (40–65 ft) is more typical.

In youth, it is a bushy globe, in mid-age an umbrella canopy on a thick trunk, and, in maturity, a broad and flat crown over 8 m (26 ft) in width.

The wing is ineffective for wind dispersal, and the seeds are animal-dispersed, originally mainly by the Iberian magpie, but in recent history largely by humans.

The prehistoric range of Pinus pinea included North Africa in the Sahara Desert and Maghreb regions during a more humid climate period, in present-day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya.

In Greece, although the species is not widely distributed,[4] an extensive stone pine forest exists in western Peloponnese at Strofylia[5] on the peninsula separating the Kalogria Lagoon from the Mediterranean Sea.

The edible pine nut production has been decreasing in the affected area due to several factors, including pests and diseases.

[10] Pinus pinea has been cultivated extensively for at least 6,000 years for its edible pine nuts, which have been trade items since early historic times.

Stone pines were planted on the hills of the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul for ornamental purposes during the Ottoman period.

In the 1700s, P. pinea began being introduced as an ornamental tree to other Mediterranean climate regions of the world, and is now often found in gardens and parks in South Africa, California, and Australia.

Other products of economic value include resin, bark for tannin extraction, and empty pine cone shells for fuel.