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California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Evergreen Trees (Conifers), Vegetation Around Las Vegas
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)

General: California Juniper (Juniperus californica) is a coniferous (cone-bearing) tree with tiny, scale-like leaves. The cones are round berries about 1/2-inch in diameter. This species is most easily recognized by the multiple trunks that all emerge from ground level.

In southern Nevada, California Juniper is common in the Newberry and South McCullough mountains, and it can be found on rocky ridges in the Virgin Mountains. In the Newberry and South McCullough mountains, it is a common component of the montane vegetation in the Upper Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone. This is the dominant species of juniper in southern California.

Look for California Juniper at Christmas Tree Pass and points south and west into southern California.

Family: Cypress (Cupressaceae).

California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Arrows point to pits on leaf scales

Plant Form: Large, rounded shrub to subtree.

Height: 10 to 30(40) feet.

Trunk: Conspicuously fluted or ridged; branching underground; multiple trunks emerge from the ground.

Bark: Reddish-brown, aging to gray.

Branches: Branchlets 3-dimensional (not flattened).

Needles: Scale-like, pitted on the back (gland), denticulate at the margins, pointed. Scales in whorls of 3, 6-ranked.

Cones: Berry, bluish aging to reddish-brown; 1/4-to-1/2-inch diameter, sweet (not resinous), dull reddish brown; 1-3 seeds.

California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Green and reddish-brown cones

Seeds: 1 to 3 per cone, to 1/4-inch long, pointed, angled, brown.

Habitat: Dry flats and slopes.

Elevation: Near sea level to 5,000 feet.

Distribution: California to southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona, south into Baja California.

Comments: California Juniper are mostly found to the south of Las Vegas in the mountains of southern California. In Nevada, this species can be found in the mountains around Searchlight and Laughlin (McCullough and Newberry Mountains).

California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Ancient California Juniper
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Ancient California Juniper
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Ancient California Juniper
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Ancient California Juniper
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper trunk branches from the base
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper trunk branches from the base
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper with thick, shaggy, and shredding bark
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper with thick, shaggy, and shredding bark
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper with thick, shaggy, and shredding bark
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper with thick, shaggy, and shredding bark
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper with dense, 3-dimensional foliage
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
California Juniper with dense, 3-dimensional foliage
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Arrows point to dimples (glands) on scales
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Leaf scales with glands
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Leaf scales with glands
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Leaf scales with glands
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Cones
California Juniper (Juniperus californica)
Cones in the hand

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 220813

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