Flora of North America species comparison

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Juniperus scopulorum

Juniperus monosperma

Rocky Mountain juniper, Rocky Mountain redcedar, seaside juniper

one-seed juniper, sabina
Habit Trees dioecious, to 20 m, single-stemmed (rarely multistemmed); crown conic to occasionally rounded. Shrubs or trees dioecious, to 7(–12) m, usually branching near base; crown rounded to flattened-globose.
Bark

brown, exfoliating in thin strips, that of small branchlets (5–10 mm diam.) smooth, that of larger branchlets exfoliating in plates.

gray to brown, exfoliating in thin strips, that of small branchlets (5–10 mm diam.) smooth, that of larger branchlets exfoliating in either flakes or in strips.
Branches

spreading to ascending;

branchlets erect to flaccid, 3–4-sided in cross section, ca. 2/3 or less as wide as length of scalelike leaves.

ascending to erect;

branchlets erect, 4–6-sided, ca. 2/3 as wide as length of scalelike leaves.
Leaves

light to dark green but often glaucous blue or blue-gray, abaxial gland elliptic, conspicuous, exudate absent, margins entire (at 20x and 40x);

whip leaves 3–6 mm, not glaucous adaxially; scalelike leaves 1–3 mm, not overlapping to overlapping by not more than 1/5 their length, keeled to rounded, apex obtuse to acute, appressed or spreading.

green to dark green, abaxial glands elongate, fewer than 1/5 of glands (on whip leaves) with an evident white crystalline exudate, margins denticulate (at 20x);

whip leaves 4–6 mm, glaucous adaxially; scalelike leaves 1–3 mm, not overlapping, or if so, by less than 1/4 their length, keeled, apex acute to acuminate, spreading.
Seed(s)

cones maturing in 2 years, of 2 distinct sizes, generally with straight peduncles, globose to 2-lobed, 6–9 mm, appearing light blue when heavily glaucous, but dark blue-black beneath glaucous coating when mature (or tan beneath glaucous coating when immature), resinous to fibrous, with (1–)2(–3) seeds.

cones maturing in 1 year, of 1 size, with straight peduncles, globose to ovoid, 6–8 mm, reddish blue to brownish blue, glaucous, fleshy and resinous, with 1(–3) seeds.
2n

= 22.

Juniperus scopulorum

Juniperus monosperma
Habitat Rocky soils, slopes, and eroded hillsides Dry, rocky soils and slopes
Elevation 1200–2700 m (0 m at Vancouver Island and Puget Sound) (3900–8900 ft (0 ft at Vancouver Island and Puget Sound)) 1000–2300 m (3300–7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; n Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; OK; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Juniperus scopulorum hybridizes with its eastern relative J. virginiana in zones of contact in the Missouri River basin (C. W. Comer et al. 1982) and with J. horizontalis (J. × fassettii Boivin; N. C. Fassett 1945). Relictual hybridization with J. virginiana is known in the Texas panhandle (R. P. Adams 1983).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Reports of hybridization with J. pinchotii have been refuted by use of numerous chemical and morphologic characters (R. P. Adams 1975); the two species have nonoverlapping pollination seasons.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Cupressaceae > Juniperus > sect. Sabina Cupressaceae > Juniperus > sect. Sabina
Sibling taxa
J. ashei, J. californica, J. coahuilensis, J. communis, J. deppeana, J. flaccida, J. horizontalis, J. monosperma, J. occidentalis, J. osteosperma, J. pinchotii, J. virginiana
J. ashei, J. californica, J. coahuilensis, J. communis, J. deppeana, J. flaccida, J. horizontalis, J. occidentalis, J. osteosperma, J. pinchotii, J. scopulorum, J. virginiana
Synonyms Sabina scopulorum J. occidentalis var. monosperma
Name authority Sargent: Gard. & Forest 10: 420, fig. 54. (1897) (Engelmann) Sargent: Silva 10: 89. (1896)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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