Juniperus coahuilensis

Juniperus coahuilensis, commonly known as redberry juniper, is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae.[2]

Juniperus coahuilensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Juniperus
Species:
J. coahuilensis
Binomial name
Juniperus coahuilensis
Martínez Gaussen ex R.P.Adams

Distribution

The shrubby tree is found in northern Mexico and areas of the Southwestern United States within central and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and West Texas including Big Bend National Park.[3]

This species occurs in high desert grasslands at elevations of 1,200–2,000 metres (3,900–6,600 ft), in Bouteloua spp. grasslands and adjacent rocky areas.[4] In Mexico, it can also occur in canyons or alluvial fans. In the Chihuahuan Desert and Sonoran Desert ecoregions, it often in association with Opuntia spp. and/or Yucca spp.[4]

Description

Juniperus coahuilensis grows as a large shrubby tree up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall. It is usually multi-trunked.[3] The bark is brown to gray, exfoliating in long strips on mature trunks and branches.[3]

The leaves are green to light green, and have glands that can produce a white crystalline exudate.[3]

The cones are a fleshy glaucous yellow-orange to dark red, 6–7 millimetres (0.24–0.28 in) in diameter, and mature in one year.[3]

This species is unusual in that it sprouts from the stump when cut or burned, which has probably allowed it to remain in the grasslands in spite of periodic grass fires that kill all other juniper species.[4]

Fossil record

The species is known to have been present during the Late Wisconsin Glacial Episode of the Last glacial period, in North American latitudes defined by fossils from the Waterman Mountains in present-day Arizona.[5]

References

Line notes
  1. Conifer Specialist Group. 1998
  2. "Juniperus coahuilensis". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  3. Google Books.com: Trees of Western North America; by Richard Spellenberg, Christopher J. Earle, Gil Nelson; pg 44-45, Juniperus coahuilensis treatment.
  4. IUCN Red List: Juniperus coahuilensis . accessed 2 February 2017.
  5. C. Michael Hogan. 2009
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