Plant Description
Upright. Short trunk with a wide spreading rounded or pyramidal crown. Grows slowly. Young trees look similar to other junipers. Found in dry hills and mesas.
Usually single-trunked; bark divided into rectangular plates, branchlets erect. Leaves on mature branches scale-like, not overlapping, not white on upper surface. Seed cones with 3 to 6 seeds, fibrous to woody of 2 distinct sizes, maturing in 2 years.
Habitat
Found in pinyon-juniper, pine-oak, juniper-oak, ponderosa pine on dry rocky slopes and riparian woodlands.
Leaves
2 leaf types, whip and scale-like; whip leaves <1/4 inch long, not white-coated on top surface; scalelike leaves less than 1/16 inch long, not overlapping, keeled, apex pointed. Dense on branches. Often have drops of resin.
Flowers
Gymosperm, does not have flowers.
Fruit
Male cones small pale yellow in large clusters at ends of twigs. Berry-like females cones round, to 1/2 inch, bluish-gray, fleshy with 3 to 4 seeds, maturing in second year. Male and female cones usually on separate trees.