[4][5] It is confined to steep-sided slopes and the bottoms of rocky canyons in the Santa Lucia Mountains, in the Big Sur region on the central coast of California, United States.

The species may have had a broader range in the Ice Age era, rendering it a possible paleoendemic, although some scientists say no fossil evidence of the tree has been conclusively identified.

[6] The most inland stand, 13 miles (21 km) from the Pacific Coast, was found in Anastasia Canyon in the vicinity of the Arroyo Seco River and Tassajara Hot Springs.

When found at lower elevations, they are always located at the bottom of a large canyon, where cold air drainage enables it to thrive.

[5] The northernmost tree was located in 1927 at 750 feet (230 m) elevation on Skinners Ridge to the east of the North Fork of the Little Sur River, but it's not known if it survived subsequent fires.

The leaves are hard and stiff with a sharply pointed tip, 3.5–6 cm long and 2.5–3 mm broad, with two bright white stomatal bands on the underside.