Spanish juniper

Spanish juniper
	Spanish juniper in Segovia , Spain
Systematics
Order :	Conifers (Coniferales)
Family :	Cypress family (Cupressaceae)
Subfamily :	Cupressoideae
Genre :	Juniper ( Juniperus )
Section :	Sabina
Type :	Spanish juniper
Scientific name
	Juniperus thurifera
	L.

The Spanish juniper ( Juniperus thurifera ) also incense juniper is a plant from the genus of juniper ( Juniperus ) in the family of the cypress family (Cupressaceae).

description

Bark of Juniperus thurifera var. Thurifera

Foliage with cones of Juniperus thurifera var. Thurifera

Vegetative characteristics

The Spanish juniper grows as an evergreen shrub or as a tree that can reach heights of up to 20 meters. In young trees, the treetop is pyramid-shaped and later develops into a broad, round, often irregular habit . This juniper is either single- stemmed with a diameter of up to 200 centimeters at chest height or multi-stemmed; knots often form near the ground. The originally thin, dark brown bark weathers to light or gray-brown and comes off the trunk in intertwined strips or in long plates. The densely arranged main branches branch off in a protruding or ascending manner. The square branches , arranged in two rows, reach a diameter of about 1–1.3 millimeters.

The leaves are arranged crosswise . The leaf margins are smooth with entire margins or slightly serrated. Both 3–6 millimeter long needle-shaped leaves on juvenile plants and young twigs of older specimens as well as scale-shaped leaves are formed. With a length of 1.3 to 2.7 millimeters and a width of 0.7 to 1 millimeter on the outer, younger branches, these are smaller than with a length of up to 8-10 millimeters and a width of up to 2, 5 millimeters on older branches.

Generative characteristics

Juniperus thurifera is dioeciously separated-sexed diocese . The terminal, almost spherical, 2-3 millimeter long pollen cones stand individually, are yellow-green and later light brown in color. The also terminal, almost spherical seed cones are unripe greenish-purple, when fully ripe they are dark purple in color. The seed cones ripen in the second year.

Occurrence

The distribution area of the Spanish juniper ranges from Corsica over the Alps of southern France , the mountains of northern, southern and eastern Spain to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria . It colonizes limestone soils in Spain and rocky environments in the Atlas Mountains at altitudes between 300 and 2,400 (maximum up to 3,300) meters.

Systematics

Juniperus thurifera var. Africana in the High Atlas Mountains , Morocco

The Spanish juniper Juniperus thurifera L. is part of the cypress family (Cupressaceae) within the genus Juniperus in the section (or subgenus) Sabina . It was first published in 1753 by Carl von Linné in Species Plantarum . The synonyms are Juniperus hispanica Mill. , Juniperus bonatiana Vis. , Juniperus cinerea Carrière , Juniperus gallica (Coincy) Rouy and Juniperus africana (Maire) Villar .

Two varieties are mentioned:

Juniperus thurifera L. var. Thurifera in southern France including Corsica and Spain with 8–12 millimeter large seed cones and usually two to four (one to five) seeds per cone
Juniperus thurifera L. var. Africana Maire in Morocco and Algeria with 7–8 millimeter large seed cones and one (two or rarely three) seeds per cone. This variety is only used as a synonym for Juniperus thurifera L. by other sources .

Hazards and protective measures

Juniperus thurifera var. Thurifera is common in its areas of distribution and does not appear to be endangered except by goat bites of the young plants. The IUCN accordingly lists this juniper in its Red List of Endangered Species with “Least Concern”. The Juniperus thurifera var. Africana variety is endangered by goat bites and increasing desertification in its habitats.

The Spanish stocks are protected with the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (FFH-RL) No. 92/43 / EEC in the updated version of January 1, 2007 of the European Union , Appendix 1 through the required designation of protected areas to which juniper species belong.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Christopher J. Earle: Juniperus thurifera. In: The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved January 21, 2011 .
↑ Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum . tape 2 . Lars Salvius, Stockholm 1753, p. 1039 ( digitized version ).
↑ Juniperus thurifera in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.4. Listed by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
↑ Directive 92/43 / EEC of the Council of May 21, 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild animals and plants in the consolidated version of January 1, 2007 , pp. 16 and 19.

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literature

Robert P. Adams: Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus . 2nd Edition. Trafford, Vancouver 2008, ISBN 978-1-4251-6880-3 , pp. 85, 304-307 .

Web links

Commons : Spanish Juniper ( Juniperus thurifera ) - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

RPAdams: The Juniperus of the World / Taxa of Juniperus. with Juniperus thurifera . Retrieved January 24, 2011 .
Christopher J. Earle: Juniperus thurifera . In: The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved November 22, 2010 .

[gymno-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Christopher J. Earle: Juniperus thurifera. In: The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved January 21, 2011 .

[SpPla-2] Carl von Linné: Species Plantarum . tape 2 . Lars Salvius, Stockholm 1753, p. 1039 ( digitized version ).

[iucn-3] Juniperus thurifera in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.4. Listed by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Retrieved January 21, 2011.

[FFH-4] Directive 92/43 / EEC of the Council of May 21, 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild animals and plants in the consolidated version of January 1, 2007 , pp. 16 and 19.