280 A MANUAL OF THE CONIFEItii. 



district in Afghanistan, it is a large tree, forming fully half the 

 forests at 9,000 feet elevation. The bark peels off in long fibrous 

 strips, which are collected and employed by the natives for 

 making pads for carrying their water jars on, and for other 

 similar purposes. It has a straight trunk furnished with numerous 

 short branches, which are also much ramified; the branchlets are 

 clothed with thick decurrent, loosely imbricated leaves, either 

 opposite or more rarely in threes, covered with a dusty-like 

 glaucescence, giving the plant a greyish-green hue. 



Habitat. — The Greek Archipelago, and the sub -alpine districts of 

 Asia Minor, also Armenia and Syria (Mount Lebanon).* 



Introduced in 1806 by Sir Joseph Banks. 



The distribution of Juniperus excelsa is very extensive. Beyond the 

 limits of the region named above, a variety of it has been met 

 with in northern Persia; it also occurs in Arabia, Afghanistan, Beloo- 

 chistan, and the Himalayas, as far east as Sikkim.t In the neigh- 

 bourhood of Quettah, it grows near the summits of the limestone 

 formation, at 10,000 to 12,000 feet elevation, and is the only valuable 

 timber tree in the district. And on the mountains of Abyssinia, a 

 tall Juniper has been discovered, and named /. procera, but which 

 is believed to be a form of J. excelsa.\ This probably marks the 

 southern limit of the Junipers in the Eastern Hemisphere. 



A Juniper has been introduced from the Himalayas, under the name 

 of Juniperus religiosa, so called by Dr. Eoyle, from its being associated 

 with the religious rites of the natives. M. Carriore considers it to 

 be only a variety of J. excelsa (Traite, p. 40) ; but by Parlatore, it 

 is referred to J", chinensis (Prod., xvi., p. 488). The specimens in 

 British gardens are scarcely distinguishable from the typical form of 

 J. excelsa. 



Juniperus excelsa stricta differs from the species in having a 

 more tapering outline and more glaucous foliage. The plant is of 

 a greyish-white colour, slightly tinged with the bluish-green common 

 to the tribe. 



The pleasing colour and symmetrical habit of this variety, render 

 it very ornamental. It originated in the Nursery of Messrs. Eollisson, 

 at Tooting. 



Juniperus procumbens.— A creeping spreading shrub, never 



* Prod, xvi., p. 484. t Sir J. D. Hooker, Himalayan Journals, i., p. 256. 



% Arbor excelsa, Junipero excelsce affinis, sed ab ilia satis distincta;— Prod, xri.j p. 486* 



