Shrubs or small trees to 3 m tall; bark greenish, very smooth; branches spreading horizontally. Foliage buds 2-4 × 2-4 mm, of long, triangular scales with spreading apices. Leaves spirally arranged, crowded at apex of branchlets; blade of adult leaves narrowly oblanceolate or linear-oblanceolate, (2.5-)5-7 × (0.5-)0.8-1.2 cm but juvenile leaves larger, leathery, midvein prominent and raised adaxially, less distinct but more broadly raised abaxially, base tapered into short petiole, margin slightly revolute, apex rounded or obtuse, subacute in juvenile leaves, sometimes mucronate. Pollen cones axillary, always solitary, sessile, cylindric or ovoid-cylindric, 3-3.5 cm × ca. 7 mm, surrounded at base by a cluster of membranous scales ca. 2 mm wide. Seed-bearing structures borne on peduncles ca. 1 cm. Receptacle red when ripe, cylindric, 1-1.3 cm, base with 2 deciduous, lanceolate sterile bracts ca. 1.5 mm. Epimatium dark blue when ripe. Seed ellipsoid, (8-)9-10 × 6-7 mm, apex rounded, shortly mucronate, mucro ca. 1 mm.

Misidentified as Podocarpus polystachyus R. Brown ex Endlicher (from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines) by several authors dealing with the Chinese flora.

Coastal rocks; near sea level. Taiwan (Lan Yu opposite SE coast) [Philippines]