Cathaya is a genus in family Pinaceae and has one known living species, Cathaya argyrophylla. Cathaya is a member of the subfamily Laricoideae, most closely related to Pseudotsuga and Larix. A second species, C. nanchuanensis, is now treated as a synonym, as it does not differ from C. argyrophylla in any characters. The leaves are needle-like, 2.5-5 cm long, have ciliate (hairy) margins when young, and grow around the stems in a spiral pattern. The cones are 3-5 cm long, with about 15-20 scales, each scale bearing two winged seeds.