Juniperus scopulorum
Encyclopedia
Juniperus scopulorum is a species of juniper
native to western North America
, in Canada
in British Columbia
and southwest Alberta
, in the United States
from Washington east to North Dakota
, south to Arizona
and also locally western Texas
, and northernmost Mexico
from Sonora
east to Coahuila
. It grows at altitudes of 500-2,700 m on dry soils, often together with other juniper
species.
It is a small tree
reaching 5-15 m (rarely to 20 m) tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (rarely 2 m) diameter. The shoots are slender, 0.7-1.2 mm diameter. The leaves
are arranged in opposite decussate pairs, or occasionally in 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 long. The seed cones
are berry-like, globose to bilobed, 6-9 mm in diameter, dark blue with a pale blue-white waxy bloom, and contain two seed
s (rarely one or three); they are mature in about 18 months. The pollen
cones are 2-4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is dioecious
, producing cones of only one sex on each tree.
One particular individual, the Jardine Juniper
in Utah
, is thought to be over 1500 years old, while a dead trunk found in New Mexico was found to have 1,888 rings; older trees in the same area are suspected to exceed 2,000 years.
It is closely related to Juniperus virginiana
, and often hybridizes with it where their ranges meet on the Great Plains
. Hybrids with Juniperus horizontalis
also occur.
Isolated populations of junipers occurs close to sea level in the Puget Sound
area in Washington Park near Anacortes and southwestern British Columbia
in a park called Smugglers Cove. In both locals, there are a considerable number of young and old specimens. Previously included in J. scopulorum, it has recently been shown to be genetically distinct, and has been described as a new species Juniperus maritima
. It is a cryptic species
barely distinguishable on morphology, though it does differ in phenology
, with the cones maturing in 14–16 months, and often has the tips of the seeds exposed at the cone apex.
s and fever
s. The berries were also sometimes boiled into a drink used as a laxative
and to treat colds
.
The cultivar
'Skyrocket' is a very popular ornamental plant
in gardens, grown for its very slender, strictly erect growth habit. Due to its disposition for a fungal disease, namely cedar apple rust, caused by Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae
. 'Skyrocket' is more and more replaced by the new cultivar Juniperus virginiana 'Blue Arrow'. Several other cultivars are also grown to a lesser extent.
It is also a popular collected tree for bonsai in the US.
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
native to western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and southwest Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Washington east to North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, south to Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and also locally western Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and northernmost Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
from Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
east to Coahuila
Coahuila
Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico...
. It grows at altitudes of 500-2,700 m on dry soils, often together with other juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
species.
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
reaching 5-15 m (rarely to 20 m) tall, with a trunk up to 1 m (rarely 2 m) diameter. The shoots are slender, 0.7-1.2 mm diameter. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are arranged in opposite decussate pairs, or occasionally in 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 long. The seed cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are berry-like, globose to bilobed, 6-9 mm in diameter, dark blue with a pale blue-white waxy bloom, and contain two seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s (rarely one or three); they are mature in about 18 months. The pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
cones are 2-4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, producing cones of only one sex on each tree.
One particular individual, the Jardine Juniper
Jardine Juniper
The Jardine Juniper is an individual of the species Juniperus scopulorum found within Logan Canyon in the Cache National Forest. Often credited with an age of over 3000 years, core samples taken in the 1950s revealed that it was actually over 1500 years old. It stands approximately 40 feet tall and...
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, is thought to be over 1500 years old, while a dead trunk found in New Mexico was found to have 1,888 rings; older trees in the same area are suspected to exceed 2,000 years.
It is closely related to Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus virginiana is a species of juniper native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, east of the Great Plains...
, and often hybridizes with it where their ranges meet on the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
. Hybrids with Juniperus horizontalis
Juniperus horizontalis
Juniperus horizontalis is a low-growing shrubby juniper native to northern North America, throughout most of Canada from Yukon east to Newfoundland, and in the United States in Alaska, and locally from Montana east to Maine, reaching its furthest south in Wyoming and northern Illinois.It lives up...
also occur.
Isolated populations of junipers occurs close to sea level in the Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
area in Washington Park near Anacortes and southwestern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
in a park called Smugglers Cove. In both locals, there are a considerable number of young and old specimens. Previously included in J. scopulorum, it has recently been shown to be genetically distinct, and has been described as a new species Juniperus maritima
Juniperus maritima
Juniperus maritima is a species of juniper known by the common name seaside juniper. It is native to the Puget Sound region in southwestern British Columbia and northwestern Washington, where it is not uncommon. It was previously included in the description of the Rocky Mountain juniper but was...
. It is a cryptic species
Cryptic species complex
In biology, a cryptic species complex is a group of species which satisfy the biological definition of species—that is, they are reproductively isolated from each other—but whose morphology is very similar ....
barely distinguishable on morphology, though it does differ in phenology
Phenology
Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate...
, with the cones maturing in 14–16 months, and often has the tips of the seeds exposed at the cone apex.
Uses
Some Plateau Indian tribes boiled an infusion from the leaves and inner bark to treat coughCough
A cough is a sudden and often repetitively occurring reflex which helps to clear the large breathing passages from secretions, irritants, foreign particles and microbes...
s and fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
s. The berries were also sometimes boiled into a drink used as a laxative
Laxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
and to treat colds
Common cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
.
The cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
'Skyrocket' is a very popular ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
in gardens, grown for its very slender, strictly erect growth habit. Due to its disposition for a fungal disease, namely cedar apple rust, caused by Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae
Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae
Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae is a plant pathogen that causes cedar-apple rust. In virtually any location where apples or crabapples and Eastern red cedar coexist, cedar apple rust can be a destructive or disfiguring disease on both the apples and cedars...
. 'Skyrocket' is more and more replaced by the new cultivar Juniperus virginiana 'Blue Arrow'. Several other cultivars are also grown to a lesser extent.
It is also a popular collected tree for bonsai in the US.