Juniperus procumbens

(Siebold ex Endlicher) Miquel 1870

Common names

地柏 pu di bai (Fu et al. 1999); sonare, hai-byakushin [Japanese] (Iwatsuki et al. 1995).

Taxonomic notes

Synonymy (Farjon 1998):

• Juniperus chinensis L. var. procumbens Siebold ex Endl. 1847;
• Sabina chinensis (L.) Antoine var. procumbens (Siebold ex Endl.) Antoine 1857;
• Sabina procumbens (Siebold ex Endl.) Iwata et Kusaka 1954.

Description

Procumbent shrub to 70 cm tall, with creeping, elongated branches that turn up at the ends. Leaves mostly acicular, in whorls of 3, unequal in length, 6-8 mm long, stiff, slightly concave, with 2 white stomatal bands; lower surface convex, furrowed; base decurrent, apex sharply pointed. Pollen cones unknown. Seed cones black and glaucous when ripe, subglobose, 8-9 mm diameter, 2-3 seeds. Seeds 4 mm long, ridged (Fu et al. 1999). Similar to J. squamata, but has longer, stiffer leaves and glaucous shoots (Dallimore et al. 1967).

Distribution and Ecology

Japan: Kyushu, Bonin Islands (Farjon 1998). Hardy to Zone 8 (cold hardiness limit between -12.1°C and -6.7°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2023.03.03.

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

Citations

Miquel. 1870. In Siebold and Zuccarini, Fl. Japon. 2:59, t. 127, f. 3.

See also

Farjon (2005) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.