Shrubs erect, 0.25--1.5 m. Bark gray, fissured. Branches alternate or whorled, rigid, angle of divergence about 45°. Twigs pale green, becoming yellow with age, not viscid, glaucous, with numerous longitudinal grooves; internodes 1--6 cm. Terminal buds conic, 1--3 mm, apex obtuse. Leaves opposite (rarely in whorls of 3), 2--4(--8) mm, connate to 1/2--3/4 their length; bases thickened, brown, completely deciduous; apex obtuse. Pollen cones 1--several at node, ellipsoid, 4--8 mm, sessile or on short peduncles with 2 pairs of basal bracts; bracts opposite, 5--9 pairs, yellow to light brown, obovate, 3--4 × 2--3 mm, membranous; bracteoles slightly exceeding bracts; sporangiophores 3--5 mm, exserted to 1/4--1/2 their length, with 6--9 sessile to short-stalked (less than 1 mm) microsporangia. Seed cones 1--several at node, nearly globose, 5--11 mm, on long peduncles, with 1--2 pairs of basal bracts; bracts opposite, 3--5 pairs, nearly circular, 4--8 × 3--6 mm, herbaceous, with light brown to yellow-green center, occasionally pinkish tinged, margins entire. Seeds (1--)2, ellipsoid, 6--9 × 2--4 mm, brown, smooth. 2 n = 14, 28.
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An evergreen shrub. It grows 1 m tall and spreads 1 m wide. The stems are green and leafless. The flowers are small and green. Plants are separately male and female. The fruit are red berries.
Dry, rocky slopes and hills, rarely in sandy flat areas, at elevtions of 700-1900 metres.
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It is a temperate plant. It grows in arid regions.
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