Trees to 35 m tall; trunk to 1.5 m d.b.h.; bark grayish brown or reddish brown, smooth when young, fissured and exfoliating when old; crown pyramidal when young, broadly rounded when old; branches spreading and ascending. Leaves (1.5-)3-4(-8) mm. Pollen cones yellow, ovoid or oblong, 4-8 × 2-3 mm; microsporophylls each with (3 or)4(or 5) pollen sacs. Seed cones reddish brown when ripe, 10-20 × 4-6 mm; cone scales flattened, woody, fertile scales 2-seeded, basal pair small, ca. 3 mm, recurved, apical pair connate. Seeds subovoid or ellipsoid, slightly flattened, 5-6 mm. Pollination Mar-Apr, seed maturity Sep-Oct.

Forests; 300-2000 m. ?Guangdong, W Guangxi, S Guizhou, Hainan, N Taiwan, Yunnan [N India, Laos, NE Myanmar, NE Thailand, Vietnam].