''Juniperus standleyi'' is a species of

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 Arc ...

native to

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

and the adjacent extreme southeast of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

(

Volcán Tacaná The volcano Tacaná is the second highest peak in Central America at , located in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas of northern Guatemala and southern Mexico. It is also known in Mexico as ''Volcán Tacina''. Geography The volcano is located within ...

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...

), where it occurs at elevations of .Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World''. Trafford. Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Its local common names include ''huitó'', ''cipres'', and ''huitum''.

Description

''Juniperus standleyi'' is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

ous

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 tree ...

or small to medium-sized

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 ...

growing to , rarely 20 m, in height. The

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

are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves 5–7 millimetres long on seedlings and occasionally (as regrowth after browsing damage) on adult plants, and adult scale-leaves 1–1.5 mm long on older plants; they are arranged in decussate opposite pairs or whorls of three. The cones are globose, berry-like, 6–9 mm in diameter, blue-black with a thin pale waxy coating, and contain three to six

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 angiosper ...

s; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 1.5–2 mm long, and shed their pollen in spring. It is

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 reproducti ...

with male and female cones on separate plants.

Conservation

''Juniperus standleyi'' is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and illegal cutting for fuelwood.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2459619 standleyi Trees of Chiapas Trees of Guatemala Endangered plants Endangered biota of Mexico Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Dioecious plants Flora of the Central American montane forests