Trees to 30 m tall; bark grayish brown, shallowly fissured; branches ascending or horizontally spreading; branchlets not arranged in a plane, ultimate ones 4-angled, ca. 1 mm in diam. Leaves in 4 ranks, densely appressed, dark green, not glaucous, 0.5-1 mm, ridged abaxially, without a conspicuous abaxial gland, apex obtuse or subacute. Pollen cones 4-8 mm. Seed cones yellowish gray when ripe, subglobose or ellipsoid, 2.5-4 × 2-3 cm; cone scales 8-14, each fertile scale with 8-20 seeds.

Cultivated. Jiangsu, Jiangxi [native to W Asia, E Mediterranean region]