''Juniperus brevifolia'', the Azores juniper, is a species of

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 ...

native to the

Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...

(on Corvo, Faial,

Flores Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Administratively, it forms the largest island in the East Nusa Tenggara Province. The area is 14,250 km2. Including Komodo and Rinca islands ...

Pico Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribe ...

, Santa Maria, São Jorge, São Miguel, and

Terceira Terceira () is a volcanic island in the Azores archipelago, about a third of the way across the North Atlantic Ocean at a similar latitude to Portugal's capital Lisbon, with the island group forming an insular part of Portugal. It is one of the ...

), where it occurs from sea level up to elevation. It is closely related to ''

Juniperus oxycedrus ''Juniperus oxycedrus'', vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level. The specific ep ...

'' (prickly juniper) of the Mediterranean region and ''

Juniperus cedrus ''Juniperus cedrus'', the Canary Islands juniper, is a species of juniper, native to the western Canary Islands (Tenerife, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Gomera) and Madeira (''J. cedrus'' Webb & Berthel. subsp. ''maderensis'' (Menezes) Rivas Mart ''et ...

'' (Canary Islands juniper) of the neighboring

Macaronesia Macaronesia (; ) is a collection of four volcanic archipelagos in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North Africa and Europe. Each archipelago is made up of a number of list of islands in the Atlantic Oc ...

n islands. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

.Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World''. Trafford. Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Description

It is a

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 ...

or small

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 ...

growing to a height of and a trunk diameter up to . 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

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

, needle-like, in whorls of three, glaucous green, long and 1–3 mm broad, with a double white

stoma In botany, a stoma (: stomata, from Greek language, Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth"), also called a stomate (: stomates), is a pore found in the Epidermis (botany), epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exc ...

tal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is

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. The

seed cones A conifer cone, or in formal botanical usage a strobilus, : strobili, is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants, especially in conifers and cycads. They are usually woody and variously conic, cylindrical, ovoid, to globular, and have scales ...

are

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 6–9 mm diameter, and have three or six fused scales in one or two whorls of three, the three larger scales each with a single

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 ...

. The seeds are dispersed when

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The male cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced Gametophyte#Heterospory, microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm ...

in early spring.

Subdivisions and habitat

Three subdivisions are accepted. They vary in form and habitat.Elias, Rui Bento, and Eduardo Dias. 2014. “The Recognition of Infraspecific Taxa in ''Juniperus brevifolia'' (Cupressaceae)”. ''Phytotaxa'' 188 (5):241–250. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.188.5.1. *''Juniperus brevifolia'' subsp. ''brevifolia'' – a small to medium tree found between 300 and 1000 metres elevation on Corvo, Faial, Flores, Pico, Santa Maria, Sao Jorge, Sao Miguel, and Terceira. It grows in a variety of habitats, including ''Juniperus''–'' Laurus azorica'' forest, ''Juniperus''– ''Ilex perado'' subsp. ''azorica'' forest, in pure ''Juniperus'' woods and ''Juniperus''–''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

'' woods, and in pioneer scrubland on lava flows with '' Erica azorica'', ''

Calluna vulgaris ''Calluna vulgaris'', common heather, ling, or simply heather, is the sole species in the genus ''Calluna'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae. It is a low-growing evergreen shrub growing to tall, or rarely to and taller, and is found wide ...

'', and '' Vaccinium cylindraceum''. *''Juniperus brevifolia'' subsp. ''maritima'' – an erect shrub or small tree native to coastal scrubs below 100 metres on Flores, Terceira, Pico and São Jorge, often growing with '' Myrica faya'' and ''Erica azorica''. *''Juniperus brevifolia'' var. ''montana'' – a small prostrate shrub common in mountain scrubs and blanket bogs between 850 and 1500 metres elevation, often with ''Calluna vulgaris''.

Conservation

This is a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

in its native range due to a combination of historical felling for the valuable wood and competition from invasive introduced plants. On the island of

Graciosa Graciosa Island () (literally "graceful" or "enchanting" in Portuguese), also referred to as the ''White Island'', is a volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the northernmost of the Central Group of islands in the Azores archipelago. The o ...

, ''Juniperus brevifolia'' has gone extinct, and on the other islands, it remains endangered. The decline in population is due to

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

s of its preferred habitat (

laurel forest Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures. The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and el ...

) caused by island colonization and grazing pressures.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1702741 brevifolia Endemic flora of the Azores Vulnerable plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Dioecious plants Trees of mild maritime climate Trees of Europe Plants described in 1844