Scientific name: Juniperus osteosperma (J. Torrey) E. Little 1948
Synonyms: Juniperus californica var. osteosperma (Torr.) L.D.Benson, Juniperus californica subsp. osteosperma (Torr.) A.E.Murray, Juniperus californica var. utahense Vasey, Juniperus californica var. utahensis Engelm., Juniperus cosnino Lemmon, Juniperus knightii A.Nelson, Juniperus megalocarpa Sudw., Juniperus monosperma var. knightii (A.Nelson) Lemmon, Juniperus occidentalis var. utahensis (Engelm.) A.H.Kent, Juniperus tetragona var. osteosperma Torr., Juniperus utahensis (Engelm.) Lemmon, Juniperus utahensis var. cosnino Lemmon, Juniperus utahensis var. megalocarpa (Sudw.) Sarg., Sabina knightii (A.Nelson) Rydb., Sabina megalocarpa (Sudw.) Cockerell, Sabina osteosperma (Torr.) Antoine, Sabina utahensis (Engelm.) Rydb.
Common names: Utah juniper, Desert juniper, Bigberry juniper (English), Sabina Morena (Spanish)
Description
Shrubby tree to 3-6(-12) m tall, often multitrunked, the main trunk, when present, to 0.8(-2.2) m in diameter. Bark gray-brown to ashy white, thin, shredding in long strips. Crown open, broad and rounded, with spreading or rising branches. Branchlets three- or four-angled, stiff, up to 2 mm thick. Adult leaves usually in alternating pairs, scalelike, 1-3 mm long, yellowish green, with an inconspicuous, embedded resin gland, the edges minutely toothed, the tip triangular and bent forward tightly against the twig. Pollen and seed cones on the same plant. Pollen cones single at the tips of branchlets, slightly oblong, 2.5-4.5 mm long, with 5-9(-12) alternating pairs of pollen scales. Seed cones single at the tips of straight branchlets, nearly spherical, (6-)8-10(-18) mm in diameter, tan to brown with a conspicuous waxy coating, maturing in 1-2 years. Seeds one (or two), 4-6(-8) mm long, brown, the paler attachment scar extending halfway up the seed.
The scientific name (“bone seed”) is derived from the (not unusually) hard seeds.
Western United States from northeastern California, eastern Idaho, and south-central Montana to southern California, central Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. Juniper and pinyon pine-juniper woodlands on dry, rocky slopes and plateaus; (460-)1,300-2,700 m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
Juniperus osteosperma is the most wide-spread species of juniper in the extensive Pinyon-Juniper woodland formation of the SW USA; it has little commercial value and occurs often on rocky escarpments and plateaus where few other plants get a foothold. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern.
This species is a codominant in the widespread Pinyon-Juniper woodland of the Intermountain Region of the American West, with Pinus edulis, Pinus monophylla (in the SW of its range), Pinus cembroides (in the S of its range), Juniperus scopulorum, Juniperus occidentalis (in the W of its range), Seriphidium tridentatum (Artemisia tridentata), Chrysothamnus spp., Quercus gambelii, and Ephedra viridis, or in pure stands at the lower altitudinal limits of the community. The altitudinal range is 460-2,700 m a.s.l. Juniperus osteosperma is abundant on rocky or gravelly alluvial fans and hillsides, as well as on bare sandstone or shale where it finds crevices in the rock to grow in. It is one of the most drought resistant junipers in North America.
In many arid places on the Colorado Plateau and elsewhere in its extensive range, this species of juniper is the most important small tree providing important habitat for wildlife. Its use for firewood is now incidental and its contorted habit when growing older precludes most other uses of its wood. In regions with dry and hot summers it could be used in gardens; it is very hardy as it occurs naturally in continental climate and at high altitudes.
This species is present in many protected areas, among which are famous national parks, in the (semi-)arid southwest.
Cultivars:
Juniperus osteosperma ‘# 6 Broom’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Barb’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Burr’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Butch’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Dome Spreader’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Drewssey Column’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Losee Canyon’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Many Stems’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Precious’
Juniperus osteosperma ‘Wild Mustang’
References
- Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
- Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
