This juniper, rare in the Pacific Northwest, is often shrub-like in size but can grow to 40 feet (12 meters).
Leaves:
The scale-like
leaves are arranged in opposite pairs. They are green or gray-green,
with no resin dots like those on Western Juniper.
Cones:
The cones form
small,soft, juicy berries that are blue and coated with a white film.
Bark:
The bark is
reddish-brown. On larger trees, it breaks into flat ridges with long
flaky scales.
Where
it grows: Rocky Mountain juniper is not common in the Northwest. It grows in a few mountainous,
dry areas
in central Washington and the northeast corners of Oregon
and Washington. It also grows throughout much of the Rocky Mountains, where it is most at home.
Curiously, some of these junipers grow in the Puget Sound area. Based on DNA analysis, they have
recently been classified as a separate species:
seaside juniper (Juniperus maratima.)
Although these junipers live in a very different habitat from the Rocky
Mountain junipers east of the Cascades, they look very similar. The
best way to distinguish them is by location.
Uses: There
are
several popular cultivars of Rocky Mountain Juniper. It is also a popular bonsai
plant.
Names:
The name scopulorum
refers to "tree growing
in rocky ground."
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