Juniperus coahuilensis
| Juniperus coahuilensis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Cupressales |
| Family: | Cupressaceae |
| Genus: | Juniperus |
| Species: | J. coahuilensis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Juniperus coahuilensis Martínez Gaussen ex R.P.Adams
| |
Juniperus coahuilensis, commonly known as redberry juniper, is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae.[2]
Distribution
The shrubby tree is found in northern Mexico and areas of the Southwestern United States within central and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and West Texas including Big Bend National Park.[3]
This species occurs in high desert grasslands at elevations of 1,200–2,000 metres (3,900–6,600 ft), in Bouteloua spp. grasslands and adjacent rocky areas.[4] In Mexico, it can also occur in canyons or alluvial fans. In the Chihuahuan Desert and Sonoran Desert ecoregions, it often in association with Opuntia spp. and/or Yucca spp.[4]
Description
Juniperus coahuilensis grows as a large shrubby tree up to 8 metres (26 ft) tall. It is usually multi-trunked.[3] The bark is brown to gray, exfoliating in long strips on mature trunks and branches.[3]
The leaves are green to light green, and have glands that can produce a white crystalline exudate.[3]
The cones are a fleshy glaucous yellow-orange to dark red, 6–7 millimetres (0.24–0.28 in) in diameter, and mature in one year.[3]
This species is unusual in that it sprouts from the stump when cut or burned, which has probably allowed it to remain in the grasslands in spite of periodic grass fires that kill all other juniper species.[4]
Fossil record
The species is known to have been present during the Late Wisconsin Glacial Episode of the Last glacial period, in North American latitudes defined by fossils from the Waterman Mountains in present-day Arizona.[5]
References
- Conifer Specialist Group. 1998. Juniperus coahuilensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 10 July 2007.
- C. Michael Hogan. 2009. Elephant Tree: Bursera microphylla, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
Line notes
- ^ Conifer Specialist Group. 1998
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Juniperus coahuilensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Google Books.com: Trees of Western North America; by Richard Spellenberg, Christopher J. Earle, Gil Nelson; pg 44-45, Juniperus coahuilensis treatment.
- ^ a b c IUCN Red List: Juniperus coahuilensis . accessed 2 February 2017.
- ^ C. Michael Hogan. 2009
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Juniperus
- Trees of Northeastern Mexico
- Trees of Northwestern Mexico
- Flora of Arizona
- Flora of Coahuila
- Flora of Jalisco
- Flora of New Mexico
- Flora of Texas
- Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert
- Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
- Trees of the South-Central United States
- Trees of the Southwestern United States
- Least concern flora of North America
- Least concern flora of the United States
- Plants described in 1946