Juniperus osteosperma (Utah Juniper) is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-6 m (rarely to 9 m) tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California. It grows at moderate altitudes of 1,300-2,600 m, on dry soils, often together with Pinus monophylla.
The shoots are fairly thick compared to most junipers, 1.5-2 mm diameter. The leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 mm long (to 5 mm on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 mm broad. The juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like, 5-10 mm long. The cones are berry-like, 8-13 mm in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two); they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2-4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely monoecious with both sexes on the same plant, but around 10% of plants are dioecious, producing cones of only one sex.
Fruits can be eaten fresh or it can be dried and ground into a powder then baked into cakes. A thin flesh, it is sweet but strongly flavoured of resin and has a mealy texture. Used as a flavouring in stews.
The cones are about 6 - 18mm in diameter, they take 2 years to mature.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. (info source: wikipedia.org)
EDIBLE USES:
Fruit - raw or cooked. A thin flesh, it is sweet but strongly flavoured of resin and has a mealy texture. Used as a flavouring in stews. The fruit can be eaten fresh or it can be dried and ground into a powder then baked into cakes. The cones are about 6 - 18mm in diameter, they take 2 years to mature. (info source: pfaf.org)
Genus - Juniperus
Species - Osteosperma
Common name - Utah Juniper
Pre-Treatment - Required
Hardiness zones - 6 - 8
Height - 40' / 12 m
Plant type - Large Shrub / Small tree
Vegetation type - Evergreen
Exposure - Full Sun
Growth rate - Slow
Soil PH - Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Soil type - light (sandy), medium (loamy), heavy (clay)
Water requirements - Drought tolerant, average water
Landscape uses - Woodland Garden Canopy; Sunny Edge
Germination rate - 70%
Leaf / Flower color - Green / --