General: One-Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma) is a coniferous (cone-bearing) tree with tiny, scale-like leaves. The cones are round berries about 1/4-inch in diameter. This species is most easily recognized by the several branches that all arise from ground level.

In southern Nevada, One-Seed Juniper is common north of the mountain ranges around Las Vegas in such places as Lincoln and White Pine Counties. It is a common component of the Great Basin flats and montane vegetation in the Upper Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone. This is the dominant species of juniper in central Nevada.

Family: Cypress (Cupressaceae).

Other Names:

Plant Form: Large shrub to small tree; rounded. Broad rounded crown; trunk short, several branches arising from ground.

Height: To 25-feet tall.

Trunk: To 1.5-feet diameter.

Bark: Thin, gray, numerous narrow fissures, shedding.

Branches: Branchlets 3-dimensional (not flattened).

Needles: Gray-green, closely adpressed, sharply pointed; minutely toothed on margin.

Cones: Berry; coppery (red at maturity) covered with a bluish, waxy substance; 1/4-inch diameter.

Seeds: 1 seed per cone.

Habitat: Flats, canyons, and rocky mountain slopes.

Elevation:

Distribution:

Comments: One-Seed Juniper does not occur around Las Vegas, but it is the common species in central and eastern Nevada.