[7] Individuals can grow 10 to 25 meters tall with branches 5–10 cm in diameter covering the trunk to nearly the ground.

[8] The tree’s leaves are light green and scale-like and can grow up to 15mm in length, persisting on branches for many years.

They remain on the tree until the supporting branches die, typically as a result of natural fires.

There was some uncertainty if it were best described as a species with papers being published in 1970 and 1982 classifying it as a variety or subspecies of Cupressus goveniana.

[11] The species was named by Wolf to honor Dr LeRoy Abrams, a botanist at Stanford University.

The habitat ranges from 300 to 750m in elevation, consisting of poorly developed sandstone or granitic soils.

[13] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) added the Santa Cruz cypress to the Red List in 1998 as endangered.

[7] The modern habitat of the Santa Cruz cypress no longer experiences fires at its natural frequency.

Human-created fires can occur too often, destroying immature trees before reaching reproductive age.

Fishing and Wildlife Service cited the altered fire regime as one of the most important threats to the populations.

[7] Nonnative species serve as competition and habitat modifiers that can limit cypress success.

Acacia dealbata and Genista monspessulana impact Santa Cruz populations by blocking sunlight and by competing for soil space to germinate.

[7] However, a lengthy section of the 2016 federal report titled "Genetic introgression" (also known as introgressive hybridization) explains how the integrity of this species is also threatened by nearby horticultural plantings of a sister species, Monterey cypress, whose historically native range is nearby: on the opposite side of Monterey Bay.

As well, it illustrates an element of ongoing human impact — wind-dispersed pollen contamination from horticultural plantings — that cannot easily be corrected to meet conservation goals.

[7] In the past, the conversion of habitat into agricultural lands and residential areas was a major threat.

Fish and Wildlife Service released the first recovery plan for the Santa Cruz cypress in 1998.

[12] In 2009, the updated recovery plan recommended the reclassification of the species to threatened when protection for all five populations and their habitat is secured.

[9] Updated resource-use plans and ordinances from the Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties currently protect some populations.