This type of cypress needs plenty of sunlight to grow. It also grows properly planted in half shade. It can grow in high-altitude locations or in places near the sea. It has a high resistance to various types of soils, from alkaline to acidic, so they can be sown in virtually any type of climate.
They have leaves shaped like yellowish-green scales that give off a lemon-like smell; the trunk is brown and very wrinkled and cracked, being able to measure up to half a meter of circumference. The coverage of this tree is between 10 and 12 meters in length. Its fruit has a conical shape between 2.5 and 4 centimeters in length, composed of scales with spines; are reddish and when they mature their color becomes grayish