Shrubs or trees to 15m; trunk to 0.3m diam., strongly tapering, much branched; crown rounded. Bark red-brown to dark brown, shallowly and irregularly furrowed, ridges broad, scaly. Branches spreading-ascending; twigs red-brown, sometimes finely papillate, aging gray to gray-brown. Buds ovoid to short cylindric, pale red-brown, 0.5--1.2cm, slightly resinous. Leaves (2--)3(--4) per fascicle, spreading to upcurved, persisting 3--4 years, 2--6cm ´ 0.6--0.9(--1)mm, connivent, 2--3-sided, blue- to gray-green, abaxial surface not conspicuously whitened with stomatal bands or if stomatal bands present, these less conspicuous than on adaxial surfaces, often with 2 subepidermal resin bands evident, adaxial surfaces conspicuously whitened with stomatal lines, margins entire to finely serrulate, apex narrowly conic or subulate; sheath 0.5--0.7cm, scales soon recurved, forming rosette, shed early. Pollen cones ellipsoid, to 10mm, yellow. Seed cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, spreading, symmetric, ovoid before opening, broadly depressed-ovoid to nearly globose when open, 1--3.5cm, pale yellow- to pale red-brown, resinous, nearly sessile or short-stalked; apophyses thickened, slightly domed, angulate, transversely keeled; umbo subcentral, slightly raised to depressed, truncate or umbilicate. Seeds ovoid to obovoid; body (7--)12--15(--20)mm, brown, wingless. 2 n =24.
