Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola

Trees to 10 m; crown flattened or conic (when young and protected or crowded). Bark cinnamon reddish. Branches spreading to pendulous. Scalelike leaves bluntly obtuse to acute at apex. Pollen cones 4–5 mm. Seed cones 3–4 mm. Seeds 1.5–3 mm.

Habitat: Coastal foredunes and coastal river sandbanks
Elevation: 0–15 m

Fla., Ga., N.C., S.C.

Discussion

This southern variety of Juniperus virginiana appears to be restricted to coastal foredunes but differs little in morphology or leaf terpenoids from upland J. virginiana and appears to intergrade with that variety in Georgia (R. P. Adams 1986). These taxa are distinct from the Caribbean junipers J. lucayana Britton of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and Cuba, and J. bermudiana Linnaeus of Bermuda (R. P. Adams et al. 1987). Reports of J. virginiana var. silicicola from west of Florida are questionable.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa