Juniperus foetidissima is a medium-sized tree reaching 6–25 metres (20–82 ft) tall, with a trunk up to  2.5 metres (8.2 ft) diameter.
It has a broadly conical to rounded or irregular crown.

The leaves are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves 8–10 mm long on seedlings and re-growth after branch damage, and adult scale-leaves 2–3 mm long on older plants.
It is largely dioecious with separate male and female plants, but some individual plants are monoecious, producing both sexes.

The cones are berry-like, 7–13 mm in diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain 1-2 (rarely 3) seeds; they are mature in about 18 months.
The male cones are 2-3.5 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring.

It often occurs together with Juniperus excelsa, being distinguished from it by its thicker shoots 1.2–2 mm diameter (0.7-1.3 mm diameter in J. excelsa), and green, rather than grey-green, leaves.
The crushed foliage has a strong foetid smell, from which the species gets its name.
Juniperus foetidissima is a medium-sized tree reaching 6–25 metres (20–82 ft) tall, with a trunk up to  2.5 metres (8.2 ft) diameter. It has a broadly conical to rounded or irregular crown.
The leaves are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves 8–10 mm long on seedlings and re-growth after branch damage, and adult scale-leaves 2–3 mm long on older plants. It is largely dioecious with separate male and female plants, but some individual plants are monoecious, producing both sexes.
The cones are berry-like, 7–13 mm in diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain 1-2 (rarely 3) seeds; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-3.5 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring.
It often occurs together with Juniperus excelsa, being distinguished from it by its thicker shoots 1.2–2 mm diameter (0.7-1.3 mm diameter in J. excelsa), and green, rather than grey-green, leaves. The crushed foliage has a strong foetid smell, from which the species gets its name.
Juniperus foetidissima