Scallop pine, also known as red-bark pine or shortleaf pine, is a needle-leaved evergreen coniferous tree belonging to the Pinus genus of the Pinaceae family. The high-oil scallop pine can reach up to 30 meters in height and a trunk diameter of 1 meter. The bark beneath is grayish-brown, splitting into irregular scaly plates, with cracks and the upper bark being reddish-brown; the main branches of the scallop pine are spread out or slant upward, and the older trees have a flat top. The smaller branches are robust, yellowish-brown, glossy, and without a powdery coating; the winter buds are elongated, with a pointed tip, slightly resinous, and the bud scales are reddish-brown. The young tree crown is conical or pyramid-shaped, while the mature tree has an egg-shaped or irregular trapezoidal shape.

The crowns of solitary old pine trees are flat-topped, ovoid, or umbrella-shaped. The trunks are robust and upright, forming towering tree shapes, and sometimes they can grow into curved, picturesque trunks, appearing strong and majestic.

The shaped pine seeds are 6-8 mm long, with wings measuring 1.5-2.0 cm, which are 2-3 times the length of the seeds. Flowering occurs in May, and the cones mature in the first and second weeks of October the following year. The crown of the shaped pine is conical or pyramid-shaped in youth, becoming ovate or irregular trapezoidal in middle age. The crown of isolated old trees is flat, with shapes like elliptical or umbrella. The trunk is robust and upright, forming a towering tree shape, and sometimes it can grow into curved and varied trunks, appearing sturdy and majestic.