Juniperus wallichiana J. D. Hooker & Thomson ex E. Brandis; J. wallichiana var. meionocarpa Handel-Mazzetti; Sabina wallichiana (J. D. Hooker & Thomson ex E. Brandis) W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu; S. wallichiana var. meionocarpa (Handel-Mazzetti) W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu.

Shrubs erect or procumbent, to 2 m, rarely small trees, dioecious; ultimate branchlets densely arranged, mostly straight, usually 4-angled, sometimes terete. Leaves both scalelike and needlelike; needlelike leaves usually present on young trees, in whorls of 3, ascending, 3-8 mm, apex acuminate; scalelike leaves decussate or sometimes in whorls of 3, closely appressed, rhombic, 1.2-2 mm, abaxial gland central, or basal in needlelike leaves, oblong or linear, depressed, leaf apex obtuse. Pollen cones subglobose or ovoid, 2-3 mm; microsporophylls 6-8, each with 2or 3 pollen sacs. Seed cones erect, black-brown when ripe, subglobose or ovoid, 6-13 × 5-8 mm, 1(or 2)-seeded. Seeds ovoid, slightly flattened, 5-6 × ca. 4 mm, smooth or obscurely ridged.

Forests or thickets on mountain slopes; 2600-5100 m. E and S Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Kashmir, Nepal, Sikkim]