Rocky Mountain Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum
Summary 3
Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain juniper) 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 metres (1,600–8,900 ft) on dry soils, often together with other juniper species. "Scopulorum" means "of the mountains.
Rocky Mountain Juniper vs. Utah Juniper 4
Both species occur in our area and are represented in the garden.
In the Four Corners area, Rocky Mountain Juniper is not as common as Utah Juniper, although it does occur in large stands in some areas. Rocky Mountain Juniper becomes the dominant Juniper in its preferred habitat of cooler, more moist, and higher elevations than Utah Juniper. Rocky Mountain Juniper is often found on north facing slopes in association with Ponderosa Pine.
Rocky Mountain Juniper can be distinguished from Utah Juniper by its flatter, more slender, lighter blue-green to yellow-green leaf clusters; its more upright and symmetrical appearance; its bark which seldomly shreds and flakes; and its (usually) single, central trunk.
Juniperus scopulorum is, in contrast to Juniperus osteosperma, almost always dioecious, i.e., it has male flowers on one tree, female flowers (and thus the fruit) on another.
Schneider, Al. “Juniperus scopulorum.” Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Tree%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/juniperus%20scopulorum%20and%20deppeana.htm. Accessed 29 Aug. 2023.
Sources and Credits
- no rights reserved, uploaded by Kent McFarland
- (c) James Maughn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by James Maughn
- Adapted by Lauren Ratzloff from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_scopulorum
- (c) Lauren Ratzloff, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND)
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- Calflora
- CalPhotos
- eFloras.org
- Flora of North America (beta)
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
- Jepson eFlora
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- OregonFlora.org
- SEINet Symbiota portals
- Tropicos
- USDA PLANTS database
- VASCAN by Canadensys
- World Flora Online
