Juniperus ashei description

Juniperus ashei Buchholz 1930

Common Names

Ashe juniper, mountain cedar (2), post cedar, rock cedar.

Taxonomic notes

One variety, saltillensis . "The name J. mexicana Sprengel has been misapplied to this species. Reports of hybridization with J. virginiana and J. pinchotii have been refuted using numerous chemical and morphologic characters (Adams 1977)" (2).

Description

"Trees dioecious, to 15 m, single-stemmed to 1-3 m, occasionally branching at base; crown rounded to irregular and open. Bark brown, exfoliating in thin strips, that of small branchlets (5-10 mm diam.) smooth, that of larger branchlets exfoliating in strips. Branches spreading to ascending; branchlets erect, 3-4-sided in cross section, ca. 2/3 or less as wide as length of scalelike leaves. Leaves dark green, abaxial glands hemispheric, raised (particularly obvious on whip leaves), exudate absent, margins denticulate (at 20´); whip leaves 3-6 mm, not glaucous adaxially; scalelike leaves 1-2 mm, not overlapping or overlapping to 1/4 their length, keeled, apex acute to obtuse, spreading. Seed cones maturing in 1 year, of 1 size, with straight peduncles, ovoid to nearly globose, 6-9 mm, dark blue, glaucous, fleshy and resinous, with 1(-3) seeds. Seeds 4-6 mm. 2 n = 22" (2).

Range

USA: Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas; NE Mexico; at 150-600 m elevation on limestone glades and bluffs (1, 2). See also (3). Var. saltillensis in Mexico, 1500-2900 m (1).

Big Tree

Diameter 93 cm, height 12 m, crown spread 11 m, located in Comal County, TX ( American Forests 1996 ).

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Citations

(1) Silba 1986.
(2) Adams, Robert P. in Flora of North America online .

(3) Robert S. Thompson, Katherine H. Anderson and Patrick J. Bartlein. 1999. Atlas of Relations Between Climatic Parameters and Distributions of Important Trees and Shrubs in North America. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1650 A&B. URL= http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/ppapers/p1650-a/pages/conifers.html, accessed 22-Jan-2000.