Common Names
Creeping juniper, savinier, genévrier horizontal (1).Taxonomic notes
Syn: J. communis var. jackii (Silba 1986); Juniperus horizontalis var. douglasii hort.; J. horizontalis var. variegata Beissner. " Juniperus horizontalis , a prostrate species, hybridizes with the trees J. virginiana and J. scopulorum (Adams 1983; Fassett 1945 ; Palma-Otal et al. 1983) and is closely related to both. The hybrid between J. horizontalis and J. scopulorum has been named J. × fassettii Boivin" (1).Description
"Shrubs dioecious, prostrate to decumbent; crown depressed. Bark brown, exfoliating in thin strips, that of small branchlets (5-10 mm diam.) smooth, that of larger branchlets exfoliating in wide strips or plates. Branches creeping; branchlets erect, 3-4-sided in cross section, ca. 2/3 or less as wide as length of scalelike leaves. Leaves green but turning reddish purple in winter, abaxial gland elliptic, conspicuous, exudate absent, margins entire (at 20× and 40×); whip leaves 4-8 mm, not glaucous adaxially; scalelike leaves 1.5-2 mm, mostly overlapping to 1/3 their length, apex rounded or obtuse to acute and apiculate, spreading. Seed cones mostly maturing in 2 years, of 2 distinct sizes, generally with curved peduncles, globose to ovoid, 5-7 mm, blue-black to brownish blue when mature, lightly glaucous, soft and resinous, with 1-2(-3) seeds. Seeds 4-5 mm. 2n = 22" (1).Range
Canada: all provinces and territories; France: St. Pierre and Miquelon; USA: Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine; at 0-1000 m on sand dunes, sandy and gravelly soils, prairies, slopes, rock outcrops, and stream banks (1). See also (2).Big Tree
Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Observations
Remarks
Citations
(1) Adams, Robert P. in Flora of North America online.Robert S. Thompson, Katherine H. Anderson and Patrick J. Bartlein. 1999. Atlas of Relations Between Climatic Parameters and Distributions of Important Trees and Shrubs in North America. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1650 A&B. URL= http://greenwood.cr.usgs.gov/pub/ppapers/p1650-a/pages/conifers.html, accessed 22-Jan-2000.
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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/cu/ju/horizontalis.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:
earlecj@earthlink.net
Last modified on 22-Jan-2000