The egg-shaped growth buds are reddish-brown and between 20 and 30 mm (³⁄₄ and 1 ¹⁄₄ in) long.
They are short pointed, slightly rotated, and very resinous.
Spring growth starts in beginning of April and the annual growth is completed by early July.
The dark and mostly shiny needles are pointed and 4 to 8 cm (1 ¹⁄₂ to 3 in) long and 0.9 to 2 mm (0.04 to 0.08 in) wide.
The needle edge is weak to clearly serrated.
The needles are in pairs on short shoots and rotated about the shoots' longitudinal axes.
In Alberta above 2,000 m (6,600 ft), 1 to 5 needles occur per short shoot.
A population with a high proportion of three-needled short shoots occurs in the Yukon.
Needles live an average of four to six years, with a maximum of 13 years.
The egg-shaped growth buds are reddish-brown and between 20 and 30 mm (³⁄₄ and 1 ¹⁄₄ in) long. They are short pointed, slightly rotated, and very resinous. Spring growth starts in beginning of April and the annual growth is completed by early July. The dark and mostly shiny needles are pointed and 4 to 8 cm (1 ¹⁄₂ to 3 in) long and 0.9 to 2 mm (0.04 to 0.08 in) wide. The needle edge is weak to clearly serrated. The needles are in pairs on short shoots and rotated about the shoots' longitudinal axes. In Alberta above 2,000 m (6,600 ft), 1 to 5 needles occur per short shoot. A population with a high proportion of three-needled short shoots occurs in the Yukon. Needles live an average of four to six years, with a maximum of 13 years.
Pinus contorta