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| Juniperus macrocarpa | ||||||||||||||
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 Juniperus macrocarpa in Sardinia
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| Juniperus macrocarpa Sibth. & Sm. |
Juniperus macrocarpa (Large-fruited Juniper, syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa (Sibth. & Sm.) Ball) 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.[1][2]
It is a spreading shrub 2-5 m tall, rarely a small tree up to 14 m tall. The leaves are broad lanceolate, produced in whorls of three, green, 12-20 mm long and 2-3 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band split by a green midrib on the inner surface. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 12-18 mm diameter, and have six fused scales in two whorls, three of the scales with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen cones are yellow, 2-3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter.[1][2][3]
Despite its distinct morphology with large cones and broad leaves more like those of Juniperus drupacea, it is widely treated as a subspecies of Juniperus oxycedrus,[2] though recent genetic studies[4][1] have shown its DNA is distinct from that of J. oxycedrus.
References
- ^ a b c Adams, R. P. (2004). Junipers of the World. Trafford. ISBN 1-4120-4250-X
- ^ a b c Farjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-068-4
- ^ Arboretum de Villardebelle: photos of cones and shoots
- ^ Adams, R. P. (2000). Systematics of Juniperus section Juniperus based on leaf essential oils and RAPD DNA fingerprinting. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 28: 515-528. available online (pdf file)
