Needles are short, to 1 1/2 inches long, in bundles of 2. Grows from the Arctic Circle south. In Indiana, it naturally occurs only in a belt 3 miles wide around the southeast shore of Lake Michigan, and the trees here are small, under 30 feet. It tolerates wet soils, but usually grows on sandy soils. It regenerates well after fire, and has been used on strip-mined areas.