Juniperus squamata

Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don in Lambert 1824

Common names

Scaly-leaved Nepal juniper, 高山柏 Gaoshan bai [Chinese] (Adams 2014).

Taxonomic notes

Juniperus squamata is a member of the turbinate-seed-cone clade of central Asia, which contains about 20 taxa, most of which are high-elevation shrubs of very similar appearance. It shares, with J. morrisonicola and J. tibetica, a sub-clade sister to all the other turbinate-seed-cone taxa (Adams and Schwarzbach 2013a). This treatment follows Adams (2014) in identifying two varieties, J. squamata var. squamata and J. squamata var. wilsonii (Rehder) R.P. Adams 2012. The variety shows its affiliation with J. squamata through a close morphological similarity, as well as close molecular associations (which, however, suggest an equally close affinity with J. tibetica; Adams 2014, Fig. 1.15). Populations in Taiwan are here treated as Juniperus morrisonicola, but some authorities treat it as a variety, Juniperus squamata var. morrisonicola (Hayata) Li et Keng 1954.

Synonymy for J. squamata var. squamata:

• J. recurva Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don var. densa hort. ex Carr. 1855;
• Sabina recurva (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) Antoine var. densa (Carr.) Antoine 1857;
• S. squamata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) Antoine 1857;
• J. densa (Carr.) Gordon 1862;
• J. recurva var. squamata (D. Don) Parl. 1868;
• J. squamata var. meyeri Rehder 1922;
• J. squamata var. prostrata Hornibr. 1923;
• J. franchetiana Lev. ex Kom. 1924;
• J. squamata Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don var. hongxiensis Y.F. Yu et L.K. Fu 1998;
• J. squamata Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don var. parvifolia Y.F. Yu et L.K. Fu 1998; and
• J. baimashaneusis Y.F. Yu et L.K. Fu 1998.

Synonymy for J. squamata var. wilsonii:

• J. recurva Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don f. wilsonii Rehder 1920;
• J. wallichiana Hook. f. et Thomson ex E. Brandis var. loderi Hornibr. 1929;
• J. squamata Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don var. loderi (Hornibr.) Hornibr. in Chittenden 1932;
• S. squamata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) Antoine var. wilsonii (Rehder) W.C. Cheng et L.K. Fu 1972;
• Sabina pingii (W.C. Cheng ex Ferre) W.C. Cheng et W.T. Wang var. wilsonii (Rehder) W.C. Cheng et L.K. Fu 1978;
• S. wilsonii (Rehder) W.C. Cheng et L.K. Fu 1981; and
• J. pingii W.C. Cheng ex Ferre var. wilsonii (Rehder) Silba 1984.

Description

Dioecious (occasionally monoecious) evergreen shrubs with ascending or spreading branches. Bark red-brown, exfoliating in thin strips or plates. Twigs densely arranged, staight or curved, not angled. Leaves both whip-like and scale-like, in whorls of 3, spreading or ascending, sometimes nearly appressed, straight or slightly curved, 4-7 × 1.2-2.5 mm, slightly concave, with white stomatal bands on inner (adaxial) surface, apex acute or acuminate. Seed cones maturing in 2 years, blue-black or black at maturity, ovoid to globose, 4-9 × 4-6 mm, containing 1 seed, 2-5 mm across, ridged, with resin pits. Pollen shed in spring (Adams 2014). See García Esteban et al. (2004) for a detailed characterization of the wood anatomy.

Var. wilsonii is distinguished by having shorter leaves (4-5 rather than 6-7 mm long) and smaller seed cones (4-5 rather than 8-9 mm long) (Adams 2014).

Distribution and Ecology

Afghanistan, Bhutan, China (Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Hubei, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand), Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Tibet (Conifers of the World, accessed 2019-08-08). Hardy to Zone 5 (cold hardiness limit between -28.8°C and -23.3°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001.

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

Lambert (1824) said "It is called by the natives Pudma Chundur, and is said to be so plentiful in the district called Garawhal, that the inhabitants use it for fuel. The wood is said to be made use of by the Hindoos in their sacrificial offerings." When I was traveling in the country west of Gongga Shan in 1989, I observed frequent burning of var. wilsonii as incense in the Buddhist monastery at Kongka Gompa.

Observations

I encountered var. wilsonii in 1988-89 on the western slopes of Gongga Shan (Sichuan) in the vicinity of Liu Ba, where it grows near and above the alpine timberline.

Remarks

The epithet squamata means "scaly", presumably a reference to the (sometimes) flaky bark.

Citations

Adams, R. P. 2014. Junipers of the World: The Genus Juniperus, 4th ed. Bloomington, IN: Trafford Publ. Co.

Adams, R. P., and A. E. Schwarzbach. 2012. Taxonomy of the turbinate shaped seed cone taxa of Juniperus, section Sabina: sequence analysis of nrDNA and four cpDNA regions. Phytologia 94(3):388-403.

Adams, R. P., and A. E. Schwarzbach. 2013a. Phylogeny of Juniperus using nrDNA and four cpDNRA regions. Phytologia 95:179-187.

Adams, R. P., and A. E. Schwarzbach. 2013b. Taxonomy of the turbinate shaped seed cone taxa of Juniperus, section Sabina: Revisited. Phytologia 95:122–124.

Lambert, A. B. 1824. A description of the genus Pinus, illustrated with figures; directions relative to the cultivation, and remarks on the uses of the several species. 1st ed. J. White, London. Available: https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30944663, accessed 2019.08.08.

See also

Elwes and Henry 1906-1913 at the Biodiversity Heritage Library. This series of volumes, privately printed, provides some of the most engaging descriptions of conifers ever published. Although they only treat species cultivated in the U.K. and Ireland, and the taxonomy is a bit dated, still these accounts are thorough, treating such topics as species description, range, varieties, exceptionally old or tall specimens, remarkable trees, and cultivation. Despite being over a century old, they are generally accurate, and are illustrated with some remarkable photographs and lithographs.