Shrubs or trees dioecious (rarely monoecious), to 8 m, multistemmed (seldom single-stemmed); crown rounded. Bark gray, exfoliating in thin strips, that of smaller and larger branchlets smooth. Branches spreading to ascending; branchlets erect, terete, about as wide as length of scalelike leaves. Leaves light green, abaxial glands elliptic to ovate, conspicuous, exudate absent, margins denticulate (at 20´); whip leaves 3--5 mm, not glaucous adaxially; scalelike leaves 1--2 mm, not overlapping, or rarely overlapping by ca. 1/5 their length, generally flattened, apex acute to obtuse, closely appressed. Seed cones maturing in 1 year, of 1 size, with straight peduncles, globose, (7--)9--10(--13) mm, bluish brown, glaucous, fibrous, with 1(--2) seeds. Seeds 5--7 mm. Dry, rocky slopes and flats; 750--1600 m; Ariz., Calif., Nev.; Mexico in Baja California. Although two races, differing in volatile leaf oils, were described by F. C. Vasek and R. W. Scora (1967) and confirmed by R. P. Adams et al. (1983), no differences were found in volatile wood oils (R. P. Adams 1987). To date, no morphological characters appear to be correlated with the chemical races. No other Western Hemisphere species of Juniperus has been found to have leaf-oil races.

Plant: shrub or tree; multi-trunked at base, 1-4(-10) m tall; dioecious or rarely monoecious. STEMS: short shoots terete; bark gray Leaves: usually tricussate, closely appressed, scale-like; gland obvious; margin denticulate or serrulate under magnification Cones: POLLEN CONES terminal, 2-3 mm long, oblong; SEED CONES terminal, (7-)10-12(-16) mm long, spheric to ovoid bluish, maturing brown-blue to usually red-brown second year, dry, hard, fibrous; Fruit: SEEDS 1(-3) per cone, 5-7 mm long, pointed, angled, brown Misc: Dry slopes and flats; pinyon-juniper woodland, Mojave desertscrub; 450-1200 m (1500-4000 ft); Nov-Feb REFERENCES: Bartel, Jim A. 1994. Cupressaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27, 195-200.