Juniperus drupacea
Encyclopedia
Juniperus drupacea, the Syrian Juniper, is a species of juniper
native to the eastern Mediterranean region from southern Greece
(Parnon Oros, Peloponnese
), southern Turkey
, western Syria
, and Lebanon
, growing on rocky sites from 800-1700 m altitude.
10-25 m tall, exceptionally up to 40 m, and with a trunk up to 1-2 m thick. It has needle-like leaves
in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5-25 mm long and 2-3 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious
, with separate male and female plants.
The seed cones
are the largest of any juniper, berry
-like but hard and dry, green ripening in about 25 months to dark purple-brown with a pale blue waxy coating; they are ovoid to spherical, 20-27 mm long and 20-25 mm diameter, and have six or nine fused scales in 2-3 whorls, each scale with a slightly raised apex. The three apical scales each bear a single seed
, but with the three seeds fused together into a single nut
-like shell. The male cones are produced in clusters (unlike any other juniper) of 5-20 cones together, yellow, 3-4 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen
in early spring.
Because of its distinct cones with the seeds fused three together and the clustered male cones, it has sometimes been treated in a distinct genus of its own as Arceuthos drupacea (Labill.) Antoine & Kotschy, but genetic studies have shown it is fairly closely related to Juniperus macrocarpa
and Juniperus oxycedrus
.
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
native to the eastern Mediterranean region from southern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(Parnon Oros, Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
), southern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, western Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, growing on rocky sites from 800-1700 m altitude.
Description
Juniperus drupacea is the tallest species of juniper, forming a conical treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
10-25 m tall, exceptionally up to 40 m, and with a trunk up to 1-2 m thick. It has needle-like leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5-25 mm long and 2-3 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with separate male and female plants.
The seed cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are the largest of any juniper, berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
-like but hard and dry, green ripening in about 25 months to dark purple-brown with a pale blue waxy coating; they are ovoid to spherical, 20-27 mm long and 20-25 mm diameter, and have six or nine fused scales in 2-3 whorls, each scale with a slightly raised apex. The three apical scales each bear a single seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
, but with the three seeds fused together into a single nut
Nut (fruit)
A nut is a hard-shelled fruit of some plants having an indehiscent seed. While a wide variety of dried seeds and fruits are called nuts in English, only a certain number of them are considered by biologists to be true nuts...
-like shell. The male cones are produced in clusters (unlike any other juniper) of 5-20 cones together, yellow, 3-4 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
in early spring.
Because of its distinct cones with the seeds fused three together and the clustered male cones, it has sometimes been treated in a distinct genus of its own as Arceuthos drupacea (Labill.) Antoine & Kotschy, but genetic studies have shown it is fairly closely related to Juniperus macrocarpa
Juniperus macrocarpa
Juniperus macrocarpa is a species of juniper, native across the northern Mediterranean region from southeastern Spain east to western Turkey and Cyprus, growing on coastal sand dunes from sea level up to 75 m altitude.It is a spreading shrub 2-5 m tall, rarely a small tree up to 14 m...
and Juniperus oxycedrus
Juniperus oxycedrus
Juniperus oxycedrus is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal, north to southern France, east to westernmost Iran, and south to Lebanon and Israel, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level up...
.