The maritime juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. macrocarp) is a shrub or small tree of the coniferous family, native of the Mediterranean coasts, growing in a pyramidal shape, with branches developing from its base. It does not usually exceed 4 metres in height, although in warm conditions it can reach almost 10 metres. Its leaves are linear in shape and needle-like, in groups of three with two white lines on the face. It is a dioecious species, that is to say, there are masculine and feminine trees. The flowers, which bloom between November and January, produce fleshy cones known as galbulus. These galbulus, which usually contain three seeds, mature between September and October of the second year, and then take on a brown-reddish colour, with a diameter reaching up to 25 millimeters, and a strong, very characteristic fragrance.

The macrocarp subspecies differentiates itself from the typical species in that its parts are larger, especially the leaves and the galbulus.