Shrub or small tree native to southeastern Europe with slender brown branches and green or grayish needle-like leaves. Pink flowers appear in July-August. Grows in all normal soils as well as dry, sandy, and rocky ones. Requires short pruning at the end of winter. As a shrub, it is planted alone in meadows, in groups in parks and loose hedges; as small trees, planted alone in gardens, in groups along avenues. Also widely used as a windbreak near the sea.