The majority are estimated to be over 2000 years old, with very little regeneration due to the increasing desertification of the Sahara.

The largest one is named Tin-Balalan is believed to be the oldest tarout tree with a circumference of 12 meters or 36 feet.

[citation needed] This species is distinct from the allied Cupressus sempervirens (Mediterranean cypress) in its much bluer foliage with a white resin spot on each leaf, the smaller shoots often being flattened in a single plane.

Probably as a result of its isolation and low population, the Saharan cypress has evolved a unique reproductive system of male apomixis whereby the seeds develop entirely from the genetic content of the pollen.

The Saharan cypress is occasionally cultivated in southern and western Europe, in part for ex situ genetic conservation, but also as an ornamental tree.