BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Juniperus flaccida | Drooping Juniper 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Drooping juniper is a native small tree or large shrub.  Height at
maturity usually ranges from 25 to 30 feet (7.6-9.1 m) [13].  The
national champion is 55 feet (16.7 m) tall with a crown spread of 35
feet (10.6 m) and a circumference of 8.5 feet (2.5 m) [10].  The most
conspicuous character of drooping juniper is its pendant branchlets.
Young drooping juniper trees usually have a narrow rounded crown.  The
bark is deeply furrowed and shreds into long strips.  The globose,
berrylike cone is dull black and leathery.  The cone takes 2 years to
mature [13].  Each cone contains from 4 to 12 seeds [14].

Drooping juniper is usually slow growing and is long lived [17].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Phanerophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Large seed crops are produced every 2 to 3 years, with light crops
produced in intervening years [4].  Seeds are disseminated by birds and
mammals.  The widespread distribution of drooping juniper in Mexico is
probably partly due to the number of seeds per cone, which is large when
compared to other junipers [21].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Drooping juniper occurs on dry, rocky or sandy, igneous soils in
canyons, benches, hillsides, and ridges.  It usually occurs above 5,000
feet (1,524 m) elevation [4,13,14].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Drooping juniper cones mature in September of their second year and are
persistent [17].

Related categories for Species: Juniperus flaccida | Drooping Juniper