CYPEESS AND JUNIPER TREES OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION. 27 



inches thick near the ground, with a wide, rounded, rather open 

 crown of numerous upright, twisted limbs. The short trunk is apt 

 to be one-sided with conspicuous hollows and ridges. Its thin, 

 whitish bark, from one-fourth to three-eighths of an inch thick on 

 large trunks, is cut into long scales. 



The minute, sharp-pointed, scalelike, pale yellowish-green leaves 

 (PL XV), generally without a pit on the back, are arranged mostly 

 in alternately opposite pairs, and closely overlap each other in four 

 rows on the slender, stiff-looking twigs. Sometimes there are six 

 rows, in which case three leaves occur together at a point. Leaves 

 of vigorous leading shoots are much larger and keenly pointed (PL 

 XVI) , while those of seed lings are needlelike. The margins of the 

 leaves are minutely toothed. The twigs have a roundish appear- 

 ance. Leaves of each season's growth .persist from 10 to 12 years, 

 or even longer. The bark of larger twigs which have recently shed 

 their leaves is pale reddish-brown and scaly. 



Male and female flowers are usually borne on different twigs of the 

 same tree, though sometimes the male flowers are borne on one tree 

 and the female on another. Ripe berries (PL XV), matured in the 

 autumn of the second year, have a smooth, tough, red-brown skin, 

 covered with a whitish bloom, which gives the berries a bluish tint. 

 The pulp of the berries is thin, dry, and sweet. They usually con- 

 tain but one seed (occasionally two), pointed at the top, rather sharply 

 angled (PL XV, a, h) , and marked nearly to the top by what appears 

 to be a scalelike, basal covering (hilum). The surface of the berries 

 shows projecting points, which are the ends of minute female flower 

 scales. The pointed seed-leaves are usually 5 in number, but vary 

 from 4 to 6. 



The hard, heavy wood of Utah juniper is generally very narrow- 

 ringed, the rings in stunted trees being extremely narrow. The sap- 

 wood is very thick and white, while the heartwood, of a light yellow- 

 ish-brown color, is less pungent in odor than that of other junipers. 

 When thoroughly seasoned the wood is exceedingly durable. Utah 

 juniper is too small and imperfect in form for commercial purposes, 

 though where it is abundant the wood is much used for fuel and 

 fence posts. 



OCCURRENCE AND HABITS. 



Utah juniper grows on desert foothills and mountain slopes in dry 

 rocky, gravelly, or sandy soils, at elevations between 5,000 and 7,000 

 feet. It forms extensive, rather open, pure stands, and also grows 

 mixed with single-leaf pine, one-seed juniper, and desert shrubs. 

 Like its associate, one-seed juniper, the tree is important to the 

 forester through its ability to form a woodland type of cover in arid 

 regions. 



