Description
The 'Juniperus oxycedrus tree is very variable in shape, forming a spreading shrub 2–3 m tall to a small erect tree 10–15 m tall. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5–20 mm long and 1–2 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 7–12 mm diameter, and have three or six fused scales in 1-2 whorls, three of the scales with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter or early spring.
As to be expected from the wide range, 'Juniperus oxycedrus is very variable. One recent study splits it into three species, though other authorities do not accept this:
- Juniperus oxycedrus L. - Western Prickly Juniper. Southwest Europe, in eastern Portugal and Spain east to southern France, northwest Italy, Corsica, and Sardinia, and northwest Africa from Morocco east to Tunisia. Leaves long (10–20 mm), narrow-based; cones smooth.
- Juniperus navicularis Gand. (syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. transtagana) - Portuguese Prickly Juniper. Coastal southwest Portugal. Leaves short (5–12 mm); cones smooth.
- Juniperus deltoides R.P.Adams - Eastern Prickly Juniper. Central Italy east to Iran and Israel. Leaves long (10–20 mm), broad-based; cones with raised scale edges.
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