Trees and Shrubs Online logo

Juniperus oxycedrus L.

TSO logo

Sponsor this page

For information about how you could sponsor this page, see How You Can Help

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Juniperus oxycedrus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/juniperus/juniperus-oxycedrus/). Accessed 2024-04-18.

Common Names

  • Prickly Juniper

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
androdioecious
With only male or only hermaphrodite flowers on individual plants.
glaucous
Grey-blue often from superficial layer of wax (bloom).
keeled
With a prominent ridge.
midrib
midveinCentral and principal vein in a leaf.
subspecies
(subsp.) Taxonomic rank for a group of organisms showing the principal characters of a species but with significant definable morphological differentiation. A subspecies occurs in populations that can occupy a distinct geographical range or habitat.

References

There are no active references in this article.

Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Juniperus oxycedrus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/juniperus/juniperus-oxycedrus/). Accessed 2024-04-18.

Juniperus oxycedrus

Juniperus oxycedrus.

A dioecious shrub or small tree with a reddish-grey bark. Leaves in whorls of three, spreading, awl-shaped, 1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in. long, about 1⁄12 in. wide, swollen and jointed at the base, tapered at the apex to a prickly point, green and sharply keeled beneath, upper surface with two glaucous bands of stomata, separated by the raised green midrib. Fruits dark red or purplish, about 1⁄2 in. wide.

Native of S. Europe eastward to the Caucasus and Iraq. It is rare in cultivation, needing a warmer and drier climate than ours to thrive well. The only specimen of any size recorded recently grows in the National Pinetum at Bedgebury, Kent; it measures 27 × 11⁄2 ft (1967).

subsp. macrocarpa (Sibth. & Sm.) Ball J. macrocarpa Sibth. & Sm. – This differs from the typical subspecies described above only in its slightly larger fruits and slightly wider leaves (about 1⁄16 in. wide). It occurs almost throughout the range of the species, usually in rocky or sandy places near the sea, while typical J. oxycedrus is an inhabitant of hills and lower mountain slopes.

J. oxycedrus is related to J. communis but is easily distinguished by its leaves with two glaucous bands above, separated by the raised midrib.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

There are no noteworthy specimens of this species. The Castlewellan specimen of J. cedrus mentioned on page 490 measures 33 × 21⁄4 + 21⁄4 ft (1976).

Juniperus oxycedrus

Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus with immature seed cones in the Kasnak National Reserve, Isparta, Turkey. 20th March 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Juniperus oxycedrus

A hugely variable plant, individuals of Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus can grow side by side as low shrubs and small trees. This example grows with Pinus brutia, Quercus cerris and Myrtus communis at c. 800 m asl near Bucak, Turkey. 20th March 2022. Image Tom Christian.

Juniperus oxycedrus

Developing seed cones on Juniperus oxycedrus near Kukës, Albania. 5 June 2023. Image Tom Christian.

Juniperus oxycedrus

The distinct midrib on the leaves helps to distinguish Juniperus oxycedrus where J. communis is also suspected. Near Kukës, Albania. 5 June 2023. Image Tom Christian.

Juniperus oxycedrus

Juniperus oxycedrus colonising abandoned pasture Near Kukës, Albania. 5 June 2023. Image Tom Christian.

J cedrus Webb & Berth

A native of the Canary Islands, closely allied to J. oxycedrus, from which it differs in its larger size and more rigid needles. Of this interesting tree very few specimens are said now to remain in the wild, mostly in almost inaccessible places. Dr Perez of Orotava did much to revive an interest in this remarkable juniper, some specimens of which he said have trunks a yard or more in diameter. The wood of this tree is very pleasantly perfumed and was valued by the Guanches of Tenerife for making mummy cases. Unfortunately it is only hardy in the milder parts and the only large specimen known grows at Castlewellan in Co. Down; this measures 33 × 2{1/2} + 2 ft (1966).

Contact the editors at