Utah Juniper - Juniperus Osteosperma
Description And
Distribution
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
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 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 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
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