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Vascular Flora of the Southeastern United States
Hardin, Massey, Radford, Thieret, eds.

Copyright - James W. Hardin, Ph. D., 1998, 1999. All Rights Reserved.


1. J. communis L. ssp. depressa (Pursh) Franco. COMMON J. Decumbent shrub forming dense, flat-topped mats, mostly .5-2 m tall, or rarely a small tree to 7 m tall with an open, irregular crown. Leaves lanceolate (awl-shaped) and spreading, straight, sharp-pointed, involute, glaucous bands above, 5-18 mm long. Seed cones bluish or black, glaucous, 6-13 mm in diam. (n=ll) Spring. Dry rocky soil and rock crevices on slopes and summits; chiefly mts. Ga, Md, NC, SC, and Va. [Ill, Ind, Ohio, Pa, and NJ]. J. sibirica Burgsd.--S; J. c. var. depressa Pursh--F, G. R.
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2. J. ashei Buchholz. ASHE J. Broad, bushy tree with rounded or irregularly open crown, to 12 m tall; trunk branching near base. Scale leaves 1.5 mm long, minutely serrulately fringed, glands round and raised or lacking. Seed cones short oblong to subglobose, dark blue and glaucous, 6-8.5 mm in diam.; seeds dark brown, 4--6 mm long. Spring. Limestone glades and bluffs; mts. n and se Ark. [Tex, Okla, and Mo]. J. mexicana Sprengel-- misapplied by F.
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3. J. virginiana L. EASTERN RED C., RED C. Narrowly columnar to broadly pyramidal or irregularly rounded tree to 30 m tall; branches erect, spreading, or pendulous; ultimate twigs terete or 4-angled. Leaves entire, awn-shaped and sharp pointed (juvenile form) and 4-7 mm long, or scale-like (mature form) and 1-4 mm long with elongated gland or rarely eglandular. Seed cones blue, glaucous, resinous, ovoid to globose, 3-8 mm in diam.; seeds tan to chestnut brown, 2-4 mm long. (n=11), 33) Spring. As treated here, the two varieties represent ecotypes with only subtle morphological differences which integrade in Georgia. Adams, R. P. 1986. Geographic variation in Juniperus silicola and J. virginia of the southeastern United States: Multivariate analyses of morphology and terpenoids. Taxon 35:61-75.

Seed cones 4-6(8) mm in diam.; pollen cones 3-4 mm; tip of crown usually tapered.....3a. var virginia

Seed cones 3-4 mm in diam.; pollen cones 4-5 mm; top of crown usually rounded.....3b. var silicola

3a. var. virginiana EASTERN RED C. Trees to 30 m tall, narrowly columnar to broadly pyramidal, with tip of crown usually tapered; branches erect, spreading, or sometimes pendulous. Pollen cones 3-4 mm. Seed cones 4-6(8) mm in diam. Upland or low woods, old fields, fence rows, river swamps, limestone glades; all prov. SE [ALL]. Sabina virginiana (L.) Antoine--S.
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3b. var. silicicola (Small) E. Murray. SOUTHERN RED C. Trees to 10 m tall, irregularly rounded with top of crown rounded or flattened; branches usually pendulous. Pollen cones 4-5 mm. Seed cones 3-4 mm in diam. Coastal foredunes, coastal river sandbanks. Fla. Ga, e NC, e SC. Sabina silicicola Small--S; J. silicicola (Small) Bailey--R.