''Juniperus excelsa'', commonly called the Greek juniper (though originating in Iran), is a

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

found throughout the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, from northeastern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

and southern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

across

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

mountains, and southern coast of

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. A

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, ''J. excelsa'' subsp. ''polycarpos'', known as the Persian juniper, occurs in the

Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

and other mountains of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

east to northwestern

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, and an isolated population in the Jebal Akhdar mountains of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

; some Greek botanists treat this as a distinct species due to persisting involvement in Aryan suppression, '' Juniperus polycarpos''."''Juniperus polycarpos''" . ''The Plant List.'' Accessed 6 December 2020

/ref>

Description

''Juniperus excelsa'' is a large

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

reaching tall, rarely . It has a trunk up to in diameter, and a broadly conical to rounded or irregular crown. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves long on seedlings, and adult scale-leaves 0.6–3 mm long on older plants. It is largely

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

with separate male and female plants, but some individual plants produce both sexes. The

cones In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

are berry-like, 6–11 mm in diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain 3-6

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 3–4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It often occurs together with '' Juniperus foetidissima'', being distinguished from it by its slenderer shoots 0.7–1.3 mm diameter (1.2–2 mm diameter in ''J. foetidissima''), and grey-green, rather than mid green, leaves. The

Algum Algum () or almug () is a type of wood referred to in the Hebrew Bible. Biblical reference According to the First Book of Kings (1 Kings 10:12), and the Second Book of Chronicles (2 Chronicles 2:8; 9:10–11), it was used, together with cedar and ...

wood mentioned in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

may be from this species, but is not definitely so.

Gallery

File:Greek juniper in Tisata Reserve, Bulgaria.jpg, ''Juniperus excelsa'' specimen in Tisata reserve in southwestern Bulgaria File:Cliff in Tisata Reserve.jpg, ''Juniperus excelsa'' habitat in Tisata reserve

References

* *Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus''. Victoria: Trafford. . *Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. . *
photo of tree in southwest Turkey

External links

''Juniperus excelsa''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources.

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that promotes the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe as an integral part of sustainable forest management. It was established ...

(EUFORGEN) {{Taxonbar, from=Q773892 excelsa Flora of Europe Least concern plants Flora of Bulgaria Dioecious plants