Shrubs or trees dioecious, to 7(--12) m, usually branching near base; crown rounded to flattened-globose. Bark gray to brown, exfoliating in thin strips, that of small branchlets (5--10 mm diam.) smooth, that of larger branchlets exfoliating in either flakes or in strips. Branches ascending to erect; branchlets erect, 4--6-sided, ca. 2/3 as wide as length of scalelike leaves. Leaves green to dark green, abaxial glands elongate, fewer than 1/5 of glands (on whip leaves) with an evident white crystalline exudate, margins denticulate (at 20´); whip leaves 4--6 mm, glaucous adaxially; scalelike leaves 1--3 mm, not overlapping, or if so, by less than 1/4 their length, keeled, apex acute to acuminate, spreading. Seed cones maturing in 1 year, of 1 size, with straight peduncles, globose to ovoid, 6--8 mm, reddish blue to brownish blue, glaucous, fleshy and resinous, with 1(--3) seeds. Seeds 4--5 mm.

Dry, rocky soils and slopes; 1000--2300 m; Ariz., Colo., N.Mex., Okla., Tex.

Reports of hybridization with J . pinchotii have been refuted by use of numerous chemical and morphologic characters (R. P. Adams 1975); the two species have nonoverlapping pollination seasons.

Plant: shrub or small tree; 3-8(-18) m tall; dioecious; STEMS short shoots 6-12 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, branching apart at 50 degrees to 70 degrees angle; bark red-brown weathering brown to gray

Leaves: decussate, closely appressed, scale-like, glaucous; glands on awl-like leaves rarely (less than 20 percent) covered with conspicuous white resin; margin denticulate or serrulate under magnification

Fruit: SEEDS 1(2-3) per cone, 4-5 mm long pointed, more or less 4-sided, light brown

Cones: POLLEN CONES terminal, about 2 mm long, oblong; SEED CONES terminal, (4-)6-8 mm long, spheric to ovoid, green with bloom, maturing red-blue to brown-blue in first year, fleshy, soft, thin-skinned, resinous

REFERENCES: Bartel, Jim A. 1994. Cupressaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 195-200.

Common Name: oneseed juniper

Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Tree

General: Evergreen shrub to small tree, 3-8 m tall, usually branching from the base, with a shrub-like growth form; bark red-brown but weathering brown to gray, fibrous, shredding into thin strips.

Needles: Scale-like, 1-3 mm long, green to dark green, usually with a resin gland on the back.

Cones: Male and female cones on separate plants; pollen (male) cones located at branch tips, about 3 mm long, oblong, yellow-brown; seed (female) cones located at branch tips, 6-8 mm long, spheric to ovoid, fleshy and resinous, green with a waxy bloom when immature, and maturing reddish blue to brownish blue; seed cones maturing the same year they are produced.

Seeds: Usually 1 per cone, 4-5 mm long, light brown.

Ecology: Found on dry hills, plains, and plateaus, often mixed with ponderosa and pinyon pines and other Juniper species, from 3,000-7,000 ft (914-2134 m); pollen shedding Feb-April.

Distribution: AZ, CO, NM, TX

Ethnobotany: The berries were eaten raw or ground and baked into bread; dried berries are made into beads for jewelry; leaves were used medicinally; branches burned for purification; leaf ash added to corn to make posole or hominy; and the wood and bark are an important fuel source.

Etymology: Juniperus is the original Latin name for juniper trees; monosperma means one-seeded.

Synonyms: Juniperus occidentail var. gymnocarpa, Sabina monosperma

Editor: SBuckley 2010, AHazelton 2017