Utah Juniper

(Juniperus osteosperma)

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of Stephen J. Baskauf

Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma)

Identifying Characters: Utah Juniper is a difficult species to characterize. The berries are blue-red. The scales are minutely toothed at 20x. The species tends to be more "tree-like" than some other Juniper species it occurs with. The bark is gray, fibrous, and shredding.

Similar Species: Western Juniper is easily confused with Utah Juniper. The berries of Western Juniper are blue-black without a reddish tinge. The berries of Utah Juniper are also blue-black, but do have a reddish tinge. The foliage of Western Juniper is conspicuous glandular, but that of Utah Juniper mostly lacks glandular dots. The bark of Western Juniper is primarily red-brown, but that of Utah Juniper is gray. 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. Rocky Mountains Juniper can be very difficult to separate from Utah Juniper. The scale margins of Rocky Mountain Juniper are smooth at 20x, but those of Utah Juniper at minutely toothed. The berries of Rocky Mountain Juniper are soft and juicy, but those of Utah Juniper tend to dry and hard. The bark of Utah Juniper is gray while that of Rock Mountain Juniper is red-brown.

Measurements: Utah Juniper is a tree with a short trunk, spreading branches, and rounded or conical crown; height 10 to 40 feet with a diameterof 1 to 3 feet at breast height.

Female Cones: Cones berry-like, ovate, 0.5 to 0.6 inches in diameter; color blue with reddish and purple tints and with a white bloom; 1 to 2 seeds; berries tend to be dry and hard.

Leaves: Leaves scale-like, mostly opposite in 4 rows; scales about 1/16 inches in length, with a short point at the apex and usually without a glandular dot; color yellow-green; scale margins minutely dentate at 20x.

Bark: Bark gray, fibrous, shredding.

Native Range: Utah Juniper has a wide distribution in the western United States, but is particularly prevalent in the Great Basin Region. The species occurs in most of Nevada and stretches westward to the eastern borders of California. Utah Juniper occurs throughout Utah and western Colorado, northern and central Arizona and extreme western and northern New Mexico.In the north Utah Juniper is found in Wyoming, Idaho, and extreme southern Montana.

Habitat: Utah Juniper occurs on dry plains, plateaus, hills, and the lower slopes of mountains. The species occurs primarily on dry, rocky soils, common associated with species of pinyon pines.