Summary ⁶

Juniperus scopulorum, or more commonly known as Rocky Mountain juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America as far south as Mexico. It grows at altitudes of 1,600–8,900 feet on dry soils, often with other juniper species. The tree consists of many main stems, which range in color from blue to dark green depending on the age of the stem. These trees are unique in that they can live to be 2,000 years old.

Botanical Information ⁷

The tree I am working on is the Rocky Mountain Juniper and it is a native western American species. Mostly found in Canada, British Columbia, and Southwest Alberta. It is also found in the United States from Washington east to North Dakota and through the Rocky Mountain states. The buds can be ⅛ inches. The buds are the same color as the leaves, but hard to see from the leaves. The leaf surface is prickly.

Ecological Information ⁸

This tree prefers deep moist drained loam, but will tolerate sandy soil.

Ethnobotanical Information ⁸

The wood of this tree is used for the fence post, cedar chests, and medicines. Heartwood is decay resistant. The fruit on the tree is used in alcohol products. It can be used medicinally for colds, coughs, sore throat, diarrhea, bleeding, treatment for cancer, fevers, stomach aches, and arthritis. The bark is called flat ridge bark. The color of the bark is a reddish brown.

References ⁷

Plants.usda.gov
eol.org
www.wildflower.org

About the Author ⁸

Student author(s)*: Diego (age 12) from South Valley Academy

*The entries in this field guide have been edited by Yerba Mansa Project staff to ensure that they contain quality, fact-checked content and standardized formatting.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/5445447281/
2. (c) Andrey Zharkikh, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/zharkikh/14371446519/
3. (c) Matt Lavin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/plant_diversity/7352404634/
4. (c) pasa47, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Juniperus_scopulorum_Garden_of_the_Gods.jpg
5. (c) Mark Bolin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/42299627@N03/3900496933/
6. Adapted by caseynm from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_scopulorum
7. Adapted by smiller33 from a work by (c) kristen_himm, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
8. (c) smiller33, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

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

Range Map

(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)

iNat Map