Trees to 20 m tall; trunk to 1 m d.b.h.; bark gray-brown, or dark gray, fissured into longitudinal scales; branchlets reddish brown or dark brown in 1st year, densely rusty brown pubescent; winter buds globose, resinous. Leaves ascending on upper side of branchlets, pectinately arranged in 2 lateral sets on lower side, dark green and bright adaxially, oblanceolate-linear, flattened, 1-2.3 cm × 2-2.5 mm, stomatal lines in 2 white bands abaxially, resin canals 2, median, apex obtuse or emarginate. Seed cones dark purple or blue-black, oblong or cylindric-ovoid, ca. 7 × 3.5-4 cm. Seed scales flabellate-trapeziform, 1.6-2 × 1.6-2.2 cm, base stalked. Bracts oblong-cuneate-spatulate, apex acuminate or cuspidate, usually exserted and reflexed. Seeds 7-10 mm; wing light violet-brown, cuneate, 7-8 mm.

The timber is used for construction and the bark yields tannin.

* Mountains; 3300-4000 m. SW Sichuan, NW Yunnan