''Juniperus grandis'', known as Sierra juniper, Sierra western juniper, and western juniper, is a tree or tall
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
that is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
.
[ It is sometimes considered a variety or subspecies of '']Juniperus occidentalis
''Juniperus occidentalis'', known as the western juniper, is a shrub or tree native to the Western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of and rarely down to . It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is a widesp ...
'', which is also known as western juniper.[
]
Description
''Juniperus grandis'' is a medium-sized tree, growing to tall. It has a stout trunk with red-brown bark, growing up to in diameter.[
The whorled leaves are scale-like and closely appressed. Most plants are ]dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, but about 5–10% are monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy is conne ...
.[
Its fleshy and berry-like ]cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
are in diameter.[ Its pollination period is May and June.][ The seeds are wingless.
Based on dendrochronological evidence from the 2,675-year-old Scofield Juniper, Sierra junipers are the fourth longest-lived tree species after the ]Great Basin bristlecone pine
''Pinus longaeva'' (commonly referred to as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, intermountain bristlecone pine, or western bristlecone pine) is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and ...
, alerce and giant sequoia
''Sequoiadendron giganteum'' (giant sequoia; also known as giant redwood, Sierra redwood, Sierran redwood, California big tree, Wellingtonia or simply big treea nickname also used by John Muir) is the sole living species in the genus ''Sequoiade ...
.
Juniperus occidentalis australis foliage.jpg, Leaves
Juniper berries lush.jpg, Berry-like cones
JuniperBark.JPG, Bark
Juniperus occidentalis subsp australis Yosemite.jpg, Mature form
Bennett_Juniper_south_side.jpg, Bennett Juniper
The Bennett Juniper is the largest known juniper tree in the United States. It is located in Section 5, Township 5 North, Range 20 east of the Mount Diablo meridian,[Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...]
in eastern California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and western Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
; and the White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
and Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west from Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately south-southeast fro ...
, San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain â ...
, and higher elevations of Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily in ...
mountains, in Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
.[
It is found in exposed, dry, rocky slopes, flats, ]pinyon–juniper woodland
Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a vegetation type (biome) of Western United States higher elevation deserts, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers (''Juniperus oste ...
, and temperate coniferous forest
Temperate coniferous forest is a terrestrial biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Temperate coniferous forests are found predominantly in areas with warm summers and cool winters, and vary in their kinds of plant life. In some, needlel ...
habitats, including the Sierra Nevada upper montane forest and Sierra Nevada subalpine zone
The Sierra Nevada subalpine zone refers to a life zone, biotic zone below treeline in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountain range of California, United States. This subalpine zone is positioned between the upper montane zone (such as re ...
ecoregions. It grows at elevations of .[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1713601
grandis
Grandis may refer to:
* Grandis (company), a company producing magnetoresistive random-access memory
* Grandis (company), a company producing High quality Italian racing bicycles
* Grandis (surname)
* Mitsubishi Grandis
The is a seven-seat ...
Flora of California
Flora of Nevada
Endemic flora of the United States
Trees of the Southwestern United States
Flora without expected TNC conservation status