Its leaves are scale-like, arranged (unusually for the Podocarpaceae) in opposite decussate pairs, superficially resembling those of the unrelated Diselma archeri (Cupressaceae).

[3] The only extant species today, Microcachrys tetragona, produces a very distinctive pollen grain compared with other members of its family, Podocarpaceae, and records of fossil pollen from the genus have been recorded from all over the Southern Hemisphere throughout the Cenozoic, being found in Antarctica,[4] Australia,[5] the now sunken islands of the Ninetyeast Ridge of the Indian Ocean,[6] New Zealand,[7] southern Africa[8] and South America.

[9] Ocean drillings in the Kerguelen Plateau near Heard Island have revealed conifer remains with twigs very similar in appearance to those of Microcachrys.

But now, the sole surviving species, Microcachrys tetragona, is a shrub restricted to Tasmanian mountain thickets and boulder-fields.

[11] The fossil record of Microcachrys is one of many compelling lines of evidence which points to the highly dynamic and changing Southern Hemisphere vegetation through the Cenozoic since the break up of Gondwana.