Utah Juniper - Juniperus
Osteosperma
Utah Juniper Information
Facts
Description And
Distribution
Utah Juniper is a shrub or short tree growing between 3-6m,
10-20 feet and on rare occasions up to 9m, 30-feet tall. It is a native of southwestern United States,
ranging through Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern
Idaho as well as eastern California.
Poisonous
Cones
Utah Junipers bare cones that are of blue wax enclosed berry-like composition. The
cones are poisonous to the majority animals whilst being a nutritious food source to others like the cedar
waxwing.
Misshapen And Dying, But Looking
Great
Older Utah Junipers have charm and character developing with age as their large
trunks twist and contort to become attractively misshapen. The reason for their strange shapes relates to lack of
water,
nutrients and sap as a result of their transport mechanisms within their tissue dying on one side
of the trunk. With one side of the tree receiving everything required for life and the other side not receiving
anything at all, one side grows and the other not, so the growing side is biased and is pulled downwards and
towards the dead side whilst always trying to reach for the sky.
Parasitic Mistletoe Is The Culprit
The cause of the
tissue damage originates from a parasitic infection of mistletoe, which taps into the tissues below the bark.
Eventually the Utah Juniper will die. Birds initiate the disease by eating the sticky mistletoe berries, some of
which attach themselves to the birds beak. The birds obviously find the sticky mistletoe berries uncomfortable and
remove them by swiping the beak from side to side on the juniper branches. Some of the berries remain lodged within
the tree bark, from where they begin their life cycle that eventually kills the juniper. The cycle repeats time and
again.
Tolerant Of Drought But Susceptible To Fire
The Utah Juniper tree can tolerate almost drought conditions and is often found on desert fringes and it is their
ability to in effect partly die that enables them to live in extremes. As they inevitably end up with reduced
growth, they produce far less leaf drop, which reduces the vegetation on the forest floor. Also, as a consequence,
those suffering the effects of tissue damage, also become dry and susceptible to rapid and raging fire damage.
Utah Juniper - Juniperus Osteosperma -
Utah Juniper Information Facts
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