Trees to 25 m tall; trunk to 1 m d.b.h.; bark gray-brown, rough, longitudinally splitting; crown pyramidal; branchlets initially red-brown or brown, then darkened in 2nd or 3rd year, glabrous, rarely pubescent when young; winter buds globose, resinous. Leaves spirally arranged, radially spreading ± forward or pectinately arranged in 2 lateral sets, bright dark green, linear, often curved or "S"-shaped, flattened, 1.5-3 cm × 1.7-2.5 mm, stomatal lines in 2 white bands abaxially, resin canals 2, marginal, margin strongly revolute, apex emarginate. Seed cones shortly pedunculate, black at maturity, glaucous, cylindric or ovoid-cylindric, 6-11 × 3-4 cm. Seed scales flabellate-trapeziform, 1.3-1.5 × 1.4-1.8 cm. Bracts exserted, oblong-spatulate, apex with a narrow, usually recurved cusp 3-5 mm. Seeds obovate; wing brown, cuneate-dolabriform. Pollination May, seed maturity Oct.

The timber is used for construction, furniture, and wood pulp, and the bark yields tannin.

Mountains; 3000-4300 m. SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [N Myanmar]