Trees to 24m; trunk to 0.9m diam., straight to contorted; crown becoming rounded, flattened, or irregular. Bark dark gray, deeply furrowed, ridges long, scaly-plated. Branches spreading-ascending, often contorted; twigs stout to slender, orange-brown, aging darker brown, rough. Buds ovoid-cylindric, dark brown, 1--2.5cm, resinous. Leaves 2 per fascicle, spreading to upcurved, persisting 2--3 years, 8--15cm ´ (1.2--)1.5(--2)mm, slightly twisted, dark yellow-green, all surfaces with stomatal lines, margins strongly serrulate, apex abruptly conic-acute; sheath to 1.5cm, base persistent. Pollen cones ellipsoid, to 5mm, orange. Seed cones maturing in 3 years, serotinous, long-persistent, mostly in whorls, mostly asymmetric, lanceoloid-ovoid before opening, curved-ovoid when open, 4--9cm, glossy bright to pale red-brown, sessile or on stalks to 1cm, mostly downcurved, scales with deep red-brown border distally on adaxial surface; apophyses much thickened, the abaxial ones progressively more angulately dome-shaped toward base of cone; umbo central, a stout-based, curved claw. Seeds obliquely ellipsoid; body 6--7mm, dark brown to near black; wing 15--20mm. 2 n =24.

Dry ridges to coastal, windshorn forests, often in or around bogs; of conservation concern; 0--300m; Calif.; Mexico in Baja California.

The several varieties described for Pinus muricata reflect the high variability in leaf characters and in degree of elaboration of apophysis and umbo in this species. The extremes can sometimes occur together.