Trees to 30 m tall; trunk to 1.2 m d.b.h.; bark dark gray, flaking; crown conical; 1st-year branchlets red-brown, initially yellowish pubescent, glabrescent; winter buds pale brown, ovoid, not resinous. Needles 5 per bundle, triangular in cross section, 4-9 cm × 0.6-1 mm, vascular bundle 1, resin canals 2, marginal, base with sheath shed. Seed cones 3 or 4 clustered at base of branchlets, pedunculate (peduncle 0.5-1 cm), conical-ellipsoid or ovoid-ellipsoid, 7-11 × 5-7 cm, resinous, dehiscent. Seed scales cuneate-elliptic, 3-3.5 × 1.5-2 cm; apophyses brown, shiny, broadly rhombic, middle portion thickened, apex recurved. Seeds ellipsoid-ovoid or narrowly ovoid, 8-10 × 5-6 mm; wing pale brown, 1.5-2 cm × 5-8 mm.
Mixed coniferous or broadleaved forests, growing on slopes and ridges; at elevations from 300-2,000 metres.
Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings. Seeds needs soaking.