A small tree. It grows to 12 m high and is 50 cm across the trunk. The bark is thin, smooth and yellowish-grey when young. It is thicker and in irregular reddish scaly plates when old. The branches are irregularly spaced and thick near the trunk. The leaves are stiff and 4 sided in cross section. They are 4-5 cm long and pale bluish-green. There are 30-40 leaves per tuft. The mature cones are oval and 4-5 cm long. They are purplish-brown. They stand out from the twigs in all directions. The scales are hairy and curve toward the base of the cone. The seeds are 3 mm long.