''Juniperus flaccida'' (drooping juniper, weeping juniper or Mexican juniper; Native American names include ''tláscal'') is a large

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 ...

or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

reaching (rarely to 15 m) tall. It is native to central and northern

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(from

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...

northward) and the extreme southwest of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(

Brewster County Brewster County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat (and only city) is Alpine. It is one of the nine counties that comprise the Trans-Pecos region, and borders Mexico. Brewster County is the ...

). It grows at moderate altitudes of , on dry soils. The bark is brown, with stringy vertical fissuring. The shoots are strongly pendulous, 1–1.2 mm diameter, and often borne in flattened sprays (the only

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

commonly showing this character). The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are arranged in opposite decussate pairs; the adult leaves are scale-like, 2–4 mm long (to 7 mm on lead shoots) and 1–1.5 mm broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5–10 mm long. The

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 berry-like, 8–20 mm in diameter, green maturing brown, and contain 6-12

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s (the most seeds per cone of any juniper); they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 3–5 mm long, and shed their pollen in spring. It is largely

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 ...

, producing cones of only one sex on each tree. There are three

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, not accepted as distinct by all authorities: *''Juniperus flaccida'' var. ''flaccida''. Throughout the range of the species. Cones 9–15 mm diameter, with inconspicuous scale margins. *''Juniperus flaccida'' var. ''martinezii''. Restricted to a small area in

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

. Cones 6–8 mm diameter, with inconspicuous scale margins. *''Juniperus flaccida'' var. ''poblana''. Throughout the southern two thirds of the range of the species. Cones 12–20 mm diameter, with conspicuous scale margins.

References

External links

* * *Adams, R. P. (2004). Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus. Trafford Publishing
Gymnosperm Database: ''Juniperus flaccida''Flora of North America: ''Juniperus flaccida''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q311965 flaccida Trees of Northeastern Mexico Trees of Northwestern Mexico Trees of the South-Central United States Trees of Chiapas Trees of Durango Trees of Guerrero Trees of Michoacán Trees of Oaxaca Trees of Puebla Least concern plants Dioecious plants Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental Flora of the Sierra Madre del Sur Flora of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt