An upright, evergreen tree with stiff, prickly, overlapping, scale-like leaves in spirals around sweeping, tiered branches. Cones globular, 11-18cm long, taking 3 years to mature. Very slow-growing when young. Excellent wind resistance. It grows best in a moist, loamy soil.
Height 20m (66ft), Spread 10m (32ft), 20-50 years to maturity.