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California Juniper
(Juniperus californica)
Description: Evergreen shrub or small tree with broad, irregular crown.Height: 40' (12 m).
Diameter: 1-2' (0.3-0.6 m).
Leaves: usually in 3's; 1/16-1/8" (1.5-3 mm) long. Scalelike, blunt, forming stout, stiff, rounded twigs; yellow-green, with gland-dot.
Bark: gray, fibrous, furrowed, shreddy.
Cones: 1/2-3/4" (12-19 mm) long; berrylike, longer than broad, bluish with a bloom, becoming brown, hard, and dry; mealy and sweetish; 1-2 seeds.
Habitat: Dry slopes and flats of foothills and lower mountain zones; with pinyons in woodland and with Joshua-trees in semidesert zone.
Range: Mountains of California, extreme S. Nevada, and W. Arizona; also N. Baja California; at 1000-5000' (305-1524 m).
Discussion: Able to withstand heat and drought, this species extends farther down into the semidesert zone than other junipers and is important in erosion control on dry slopes. Indians used to gather the "berries" to eat fresh and to grind into meal for baking.