| Utah juniper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A Utah juniper showing distinctive shape and leaves | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Cupressales |
| Family: | Cupressaceae |
| Genus: | Juniperus |
| Species: | J. osteosperma |
| Binomial name | |
| Juniperus osteosperma | |
 | |
| Natural range | |
Juniperus osteosperma (Utah juniper; syn. J. utahensis) is a shrub or small tree native to the southwestern United States.
The plant reaches 3–6 meters (9 ft 10 in – 19 ft 8 in), rarely to 9 m, tall. The shoots[ which? ] are fairly thick compared to most junipers, 1.5–2 millimetres (1⁄16–3⁄32 in) in diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs [2] or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1–2 mm long (to 5 mm on lead shoots) and 1–1.5 mm broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5–10 mm (3⁄16–13⁄32 in) long. The cones are berry-like, 8–13 mm (5⁄16–1⁄2 in) in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two); they mature in about 18 months and are eaten by birds and small mammals. [3] The male cones are 2–4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely monoecious with both sexes on the same plant, but around 10% of plants are dioecious, producing cones of only one sex.
The plants frequently bear numerous galls caused by the juniper tip midge Oligotrophus betheli (Bibionomorpha: Cecidomyiidae); these are conspicuous pale violet-purple, produced in clusters of 5–20 together, each gall 1–2 centimetres (3⁄8–3⁄4 in) in diameter, with dense modified spreading scale-leaves 6–10 mm (1⁄4–3⁄8 in) long and 2–3 mm broad at the base.
The species is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California. It grows at moderate altitudes of 1,300–2,600 m (4,300–8,500 ft), on dry soils, often together with Pinus monophylla.
Seeds are dispersed by a variety of mammals and birds. Mammals include jackrabbits (mostly the black-tailed jackrabbit Lepus californicus spp.) rodents and to a lesser extent by coyotes ( Canis latrans ). [4] Most notable among the birds that disperse juniper berries is the Townsend's solitaire (Myadestes townsendi). [5]
Native Americans such as the Havasupai used the bark for a variety of purposes, including beds, and ate the cones both fresh and in cakes. [6] The Havasupai used the gum to make a protective covering over wounds. Additionally, the Yavapai gave their women a tea made from the leaves to calm their contractions after giving birth, and fumigated them with smoke from the leaves placed over hot coals. The Navajo sweep their tracks with boughs from the trees so death will not follow them. [7]
A small quantity of ripe berries can be eaten as an emergency food or as a sage-like seasoning for meat. The dried berries can be roasted and ground into a coffee substitute. [8]
Utah juniper is an aromatic plant. Essential oil extracted from the trunk and limb is prominent in α-pinene, δ-3-carene, and cis-thujopsene. Essential oil extracted from the leaf is prominent in camphor and bornyl acetate. [9] The trunk of Utah juniper retains essential oil for at least 20 years after the tree dies, and is prominent in cedrol and cis-thujopsene. [10]
Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa, throughout parts of western, central and southern Asia, east to eastern Tibet in the Old World, and in the mountains of Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth.
Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere.
Juniperus virginiana, also known as eastern redcedar, red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Great Plains. Further west it is replaced by the related Juniperus scopulorum and to the southwest by Juniperus ashei. It is not to be confused with Thuja occidentalis.
Pinus edulis, the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora and is native to the United States.
Juniperus oxycedrus, vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level. The specific epithet oxycedrus means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or cedrus of the ancient Greeks.
Juniperus excelsa, commonly called the Greek juniper, is a juniper found throughout the eastern Mediterranean, from northeastern Greece and southern Bulgaria across Turkey to Syria and Lebanon, Jordan, the Caucasus mountains, and southern coast of Crimea.
Juniperus californica, the California juniper, is a species of juniper native to southwestern North America.
Juniperus occidentalis, known as the western juniper, is a shrub or tree native to the Western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800–3,000 meters (2,600–9,800 ft) and rarely down to 100 m (330 ft). It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is a widespread species with an increasing population.
Juniperus scopulorum, the Rocky Mountain juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, from southwest Canada to the Great Plains of the United States.
Juniperus horizontalis, the creeping juniper or creeping cedar, is a low-growing shrubby juniper native to northern North America, throughout most of Canada from Yukon east to Newfoundland, and in some of the northern United States.
Juniperus thurifera is a species of juniper native to the mountains of the western Mediterranean region, from southern France across eastern and central Spain to Morocco and locally in northern Algeria.
Juniperus recurva, commonly named the Himalayan juniper or drooping juniper, is a juniper native to the Himalaya, from northern Pakistan, through India, Nepal and Bhutan, to western Yunnan in southwestern China. It grows at altitudes of 3,000–4,000 metres.
Juniperus procera is a coniferous tree native to mountainous areas in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is a characteristic tree of the Afromontane flora.
Juniperus deppeana is a small to medium-sized tree reaching 10–15 metres in height. It is native to central and northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Juniperus phoenicea, the Phoenicean juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region.
Juniperus foetidissima, with common names foetid juniper or stinking juniper, is a juniper tree species in the family Cupressaceae.
Juniperus pseudosabina, the Turkestan juniper or dwarf black juniper is a species of juniper.
Juniperus semiglobosa, the Himalayan pencil juniper, is a species of juniper native to the mountains of Central Asia, in northeastern Afghanistan, westernmost China (Xinjiang), northern Pakistan, southeastern Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, western Nepal, northern India, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It grows at altitudes of 1,550–4,420 metres.
Juniperus tibetica, the Tibetan juniper, is a species of juniper, native to western China in southern Gansu, southeastern Qinghai, Sichuan, and Tibet Autonomous Region, where it grows at high to very high altitudes of 2,600–4,900 metres. This species has the highest known elevation treeline in the northern hemisphere.
Juniperus grandis, known as Sierra juniper, Sierra western juniper, and western juniper, is a tree or tall shrub that is endemic to the Western United States. It is sometimes considered a variety or subspecies of Juniperus occidentalis, which is also known as western juniper.
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