Dioecious or rarely monoecious shrub or tree, 2-5 m high. Bark smooth or ±fissured. Branchlets ascending, to 20 cm long; articles 5-12 mm long, 0.5-1.0 mm diam., smooth, mostly with pubescent furrows; phyllichnia slightly rounded, often sparsely and minutely pubescent; teeth 6-8, rarely 9, erect, slightly overlapping at bases at least when young, 0.4-0.7 mm long, not marcescent. Male spikes moniliform, 2.5-6 cm long, 3-5 whorls per cm; bracteoles deciduous; anther 0.8-1.4 mm long. Cones usually long-cylindrical, often with sterile apex to 3 mm long, often sparsely pubescent; peduncle 3-8 mm long; cone body 14-40 mm long, 9-12 mm diam.; bracteoles obtuse or truncate, pyramidal protuberance slightly shorter than bracteole body, obtuse. Samara 4.5-7 mm long, very dark brown to black.
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