Complex sentence: Compared to "T. distichum", the leaves are shorter (3-10 mm long), slenderer and are on shoots that tend to be erect rather than spreading; the cones also tend to be smaller, not over 2.5 cm diameter.
Split into simpler sentences: Compared to "T. distichum", the leaves are shorter (3-10 mm long), slenderer and are on shoots that tend to be erect rather than spreading. The cones also tend to be smaller, not over 2.5 cm diameter.