P. koraiensis is a member of the white pine group, Pinus, section Quinquefoliae. Cultivated specimens may grow to about 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 ft) tall, whereas in their native habitat and growing conditions they can reach as much as 30 m (100 ft) or even 50 m (160 ft) in height. It is pyramidal in shape, with younger specimens having ascending branches and older trees having more horizontal branches that reach ground level. The gray or brownish bark flakes off to reveal reddish inner bark. The sapwood is yellowish white, while the heartwood is light yellowish-brown or light reddish-brown. The branchlets and winter buds are also reddish-brown. The branches are lined with bundles of five blue-green needles, each up to 115 mm (4+1⁄2 in), and bear brown cones up to 150 mm (6 in) long. In Northeast China, a particularly large cone is nearly 200 mm (7.9 in) long and 100 mm (3.9 in) in diameter. The seeds take two years of growth to mature, and the mature seeds do not fall off. The cones release a strong scent that is so irresistible to animals that they help to open the hard cones allowing the seeds to disperse. The nutshells are reddish brown. P. koraiensis is monoecious with different flowers. Male cones are reddish-yellow, mostly clustered in the lower part of new branches to form spikes; female cones are green-brown, solitary or in groups near the top of new branches. P. koraiensis can live up to 700 years; after 100–200 years of growth, it enters the fruitful youth stage, and after 300–400 years, it enters the fruitful adult stage. The wild P. koraiensis grows very slowly, it takes fifty or even eighty years to bear fruit, and the cultivated P. koraiensis usually takes more than twenty years to bear fruit, but grafted seedlings can bear fruit within a few years.