Plants trees, to 40 m tall (in Somailand and Somalia usually 3-4 m tall, rarely more than 15 m tall); bark greyish- or reddish-brown; Leaves on young plants in threes, needle-shaped, to 10 mm long, lower surfaces with an elongate gland; mature leaves scale-like, opposite, acute, with narrow translucent margins and an elliptic gland. Malestrobili about 3 mm long, with about 10 scales, each bearing 2-3 pollen sacs. Cones with 6-8 scales, about 6 mm in diameter, blue-black when mature; mature seeds about 5mm long.
Juniperus procera grows in evergreend workands or forests, sometimes as the dominat species, at 1350-2000 m in regions N1-3 of the Flora of Somalia as well as elswhere in Africa and southern Arabia. Juniperus procera is a timber tree of major economic importance, particularly in Kenya. The stands in SOmaliland and Somalia are small and in need of protection.