The nine recognized species of Prumnopitys are densely branched, dioecious evergreen trees up to 40 metres in height.

The name Prumnopitys comes from the Ancient Greek prymnos (πρυμνός ‘hindmost’) and pitys (πίτυς ‘pine’), referring to the resin duct being behind the midrib.

[1] The leaves are similar to those of the yew, strap-shaped, 1–4 cm long and 2–3 mm broad, with a soft texture; they are green above, and with two blue-green stomatal bands below.

The species are distributed on both sides of the Pacific, in eastern Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia, and along the mountain ranges of western South America from Chile to Venezuela and Costa Rica.

Several species of Prumnopitys are used for timber, though as they are slow-growing, supplies are very limited and over-cutting has led to some having an unfavourable conservation status.