Juniperus recurva
Juniperus recurva, commonly named the Himalayan juniper[1] or drooping juniper, is a juniper native to the Himalaya, from northern Pakistan east to western Yunnan in southwestern China. It grows at 3,000-4,000 m altitude.
| Juniperus recurva | |
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| Foliage on a cultivated plant in Britain | |
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| Species: | J. recurva |
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| Juniperus recurva Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don | |
Description
Juniperus recurva is a large shrub or tree reaching 6–20 m tall (rarely 25 m), with a trunk up to 2 m diameter and a broadly conical to rounded or irregular crown. The leaves are needle-like, 5–10 mm long, arranged in six ranks in alternating whorls of three.
The cones are berry-like, globose to ovoid, 5–10 mm long and 4–7 mm diameter, glossy blue-black, and contain one seed; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 3–4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely monoecious with pollen and seed cones produced on the same plants.
Varieties
There are two varieties, treated as distinct species by some botanists:
- Juniperus recurva var. recurva - leaves mostly 5–8 mm. Throughout the range.
- Juniperus recurva var. coxii - leaves mostly 7–10 mm. Confined to the eastern Himalaya on high rainfall sites.
Cultivation
Juniperus recurva is planted as an ornamental tree in western Europe, valued for its drooping foliage, particularly pendulous in the cultivar 'Castlewellan'.
References
- "BSBI List 2007". Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). "Juniperus recurva". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998. Retrieved 12 May 2006.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Adams, R. P. Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus. Victoria: Trafford, 2004. ISBN 1-4120-4250-X