A small tree to about 10 m tall. Bark furrowed. Branches spreading or sometimes ascending. Foliage mostly dark green, rarely waxy blue. Leaves 2-4 mm long, ridged on the back. Female cones solitary or several in a cluster, ovoid to spherical or slightly compressed 1.5-2 cm wide, fairly smooth, blackish, persistent; scales thick, alternately large and small, each with a small point near the tip, the large scales more or less uniform in width for most of their length or narrowing to the tip.

Grows naturally on rocky inland hillsides.

Qld, NSW, Vic.

Spreading branches; persistent cones with prickled scales.

VIC: Beechworth (Queen Victoria Park); Maroondah Dam (many). ACT: Westbourne Woods.

Source: Spencer, R. (1995). Cupressaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 1, Ferns, conifers & their allies. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.