''Juniperus tibetica'', the Tibetan juniper, is a species of juniper, native to western China in southern Gansu, southeastern

Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, and

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

, where it grows at high to very high altitudes of . This species has the highest known elevation

treeline The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

in the northern hemisphere. The highest known stand of ''J. tibetica'' was found at 29°42' N 96°45' E at 4900 m in southeastern Tibet ( Xizang Autonomous Region, Baxoi County). It is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...

coniferous shrub or small to medium-sized

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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing to heights of , rarely , with a trunk up to in diameter. The leaves are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves long on seedlings and occasionally (regrowth after browsing damage) on adult plants, and adult scale-leaves long on older plants; they are arranged in decussate opposite pairs or

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

of three. The

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...

are ovoid, berry-like, long and diameter, blue-black, and contain a single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are long, and shed their pollen in spring. It is usually monoecious (male and female cones on the same plant), but occasionally dioecious (male and female cones on separate plants).

Conservation and uses

It is the only

woody plant A woody plant is a plant that produces wood as its structural tissue and thus has a hard stem. In cold climates, woody plants further survive winter or dry season above ground, as opposite to herbaceous plants that die back to the ground until sp ...

occurring over large areas of high altitude Tibet, and grows very slowly in the harsh climatic conditions there. The

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

is therefore of major importance to local communities for building construction and fuel, and is also burnt for

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

. The foliage is also heavily browsed by domestic

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...

s and other

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

. Both uses have resulted in a significant decline in the species' abundance; formerly listed (1998) as not threatened,Conifer Specialist Group (1998)
''Juniperus tibetica''
/ref> it has more recently (2005) been re-categorised as Near Threatened.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q428423 tibetica Endemic flora of China Flora of Qinghai Flora of Gansu Flora of Sichuan Flora of Tibet Vulnerable flora of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1924