Trees to 30 m tall; trunk to 1 m d.b.h.; bark gray to gray-brown, longitudinally fissured, flaking, scaly; crown pyramidal; long branchlets reddish or light brown, initially slightly shining, aging gray or dark gray, 1-1.2 mm in diam., pubescent or glabrous; short branchlets 2-3 mm in diam., densely brownish hairy at apex; winter buds purplish brown, ovoid or conical-ovoid. Leaves 1.5-2.5 cm × ca. 1 mm, keeled abaxially. Seed cones reddish purple or violet, maturing light brown and sometimes tinged with purple, ovoid-oblong. Seed scales 14-16, ovate-quadrangular or quadrangular-orbicular, usually slightly recurved distally when dry, 0.9-1.2 × ca. 1 cm, ± tuberculate, sometimes pubescent, rarely nearly glabrous abaxially, base slightly wider, apex truncate or emarginate, obtuse. Bracts included, dark purple-brown, oblong-ovate, 4-7 mm. Seeds light yellow or white, irregularly purple spotted, subobovoid, ca. 9 mm including wing. Pollination May, seed maturity Sep-Oct.