Juniper ID

Does anyone know if this is a rocky mountain or a california juniper. It was collected on a hillside at about 3500 feet in a VERY dry environment (mesquite, cacti).

Hi Preston,

Do you know the location where it was collected? It's neither California Juniper (J. calfornica) or Rocky mountain Juniper (J. scopulorum) from what I can tell. Where it was collected would tell us lots more about the possible candidates. If it was in Arizona or Southern Utah, it could be either Utah juniper (J. osteosperma) or Arizona cypress (Cupress glabra). If it was collected in Eastern Arizona or New Mexico area it could be single seed juniper (J. monosperma). Now that you've posted another picutre of the bark it could very well be a single seed juniper which has that shaggy bark and most often a blue green foliage. However, the growth of your trees is very reminisent of the Arizona cypress, long and lanky.

R

It was collected from north-central Arizona. There are lots of AZ cypress around, but it's not that. The bark doesn't peel that way. I collected it about a month ago and its thriving in semi-moist bark. New growth and lots of new roots everywhere. Also this tree was being shaded out by a massive mesquite. The same juniper growing elsewhere has compact growth early on, and lanky growth on very large bush-like trees. Small specimins have quite a bit of taper with conical growth.

prestontolbert wrote:It was collected from north-central Arizona. There are lots of AZ cypress around, but it's not that. The bark doesn't peel that way. I collected it about a month ago and its thriving in semi-moist bark. New growth and lots of new roots everywhere.

Hi Preston,

By that location I would suspect it to be Utah juniper (J. osteosperma).

Thanks Randy. I looked at images of J. osteosperma, and I'm sure you're right.
-Preston

Preston, you need to get either (or both) "Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Deserts by Janice Bowers or Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands, by Francis Elmore the Forest Service's "Mr. Tree." Both are published by the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, and ar for sale in the shops of all of the National Parks and Monuments in your area -- Tuzigoot, and Montezuma's Castle included. I have them both as I get out in the desert mountains of AZ and NM with some frequency.

There are 4 or 5 junipers this one could be, but I can't ID from these pictures.

Jim-
I have "AZ trees", but it didn't help much. I will get "Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Uplands", though. I live about a mile from Tuzigoot. Thanks, Preston