One Seed Juniper

(Juniperus monosperma)

One Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma)

Identifying Characters: The blue berries and the single seed in the berries, along with the opposite scales in 4 rows will usually identify this species.

Similar Species: Western Juniper has 2 to 3 seed per berry, but One Seed Juniper (as implied by its name) has a single seed. Pinchot's Juniper has reddish berries, but those of One Seed Juniper are dark blue. One Seed Juniper is most difficult to separate from Utah Juniper. The distributions of the two species are mostly separate (compare the maps). However the distributions do overlap in central Arizona. One Seed Juniper is a shrub or small tree without a distinct upright trunk and the crown spreading and often scraggly. In contrast Utah Juniper is a tree with a short, upright trunk, and a rounded or conical, open crown.

Measurements: One Seed Juniper is either a shrub or a tree; trunk nearly absent in tree form; many branches curving up from near the base of the tree; height in tree form 10 to 25 feet; diameter about 1 foot.

Female Cones: Cones berry-like, round; diameter about 0.25 inches; color dark blue with a whitish bloom, soft and juicy; 1 seed.

Leaves: Leaves scale-like, opposite in 4 rows, crowded on the twigs; scales about 1/16 inches in length; color yellow-green and usually with a glandular dot.

Bark: Gray, fibrous, and shredding.

Native Range: One Seed Juniper has its northern most range extension into south-central Colorado. The species is found throughout New Mexico and westward in east-central and southeastern Arizona. Its also found in northern Texas and southwestern Texas but generally not in central Texas.

Habitat: One Seed Juniper is found on dry plains and plateaus or on lower mountain slopes. The species is mostly a species of rocky soils.