34 BULLETIN 207, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



XXIII, a) j while leaves of terminal or rapidly grown shoots are from 

 one-fourth to nearly one-half an inch long. The margins of all 

 leaves have very minute teeth. Adult leaves are arranged alter- 

 nately in pairs in four ranks, with a prominent resinous gland on the 

 back of each (PL XXIII, a). The bristlelike, spreading leaves of 

 seedlings, however, are usually arranged in threes (PI. XXV), but 

 sometimes in twos, these types of leaves persisting for several years. 



Male flowers (PL XXII, e) and female flowers (PL XXIV, a) are 

 borne on separate trees. The berries mature in the autumn of the 

 second year and are spherical or elongated in shape. The firm, hard, 

 purplish-brown skin is covered with whitish bloom, and distinctly 

 marked by the turned-back points of the united female flower scales 

 (PL XXII). Sometimes the surface is also marked with small knobs 

 of irregular shape. The berries vary in diameter or in length from 

 about three-eighths to five-eighths of an inch, the largest fruit being 

 produced by trees in shaded situations, and the smallest in dry 

 exposed places. A striking character of the berries is the several- 

 tiered arrangement of the 6 (rarely 4) to 12 irregularly shaped seeds 

 (PL XXII, a, b, c, d), of which only a few, or sometimes none, are 

 fully developed. The flesh of the berries is hard, dry, and only 

 slightly resinous. The seed-leaves are pointed, two in number, and 

 about one-half of an inch long. 



The wood of drooping juniper is a clear yellowish-brown, with a 

 rather thick layer of nearly white sapwood. It is moderately hard 

 and heavy, straight-grained, and very narrow-ringed. Freshly cut 

 wood has a strong cedar odor. Seasoned heartwood is very durable, 

 and has been extensively used locally for mine timbers and to a 

 limited extent for fence posts. Cattlemen and miners familiar with 

 the Cliisos Mountains assert that 40 or 50 years ago this juniper was 

 much more abundant than now, and that large numbers of the best 

 trees were then cut and used in mines near Boquillos, Mexico. The 

 present rather limited occurrence of this species in the United States, 

 however, will prevent further commercial and even local use. 



OCCURRENCE AND HABITS. 



While in this country the range of drooping juniper is confined to 

 the Chisos Mountains of southwestern Texas, it occurs frequently in 

 all of the canyons there, and stretches up even to the tops of the low 

 divides. It grows alike in the deep, washed, gravelly, and sandy soil 

 of watered canyon bottoms (where it is most abundant and best 

 developed), and on dry, rocky benches, slopes, and ridges, becoming 

 more and more stunted as it ascends to the latter situations. It is 

 usually found at elevations between 6,000 and 7,000 feet, probably 

 not going higher. The limits of vertical range in the Chisos Moun- 



