Needle juniper is an East Asian juniper with sharp, stiff needles in groups of three and drooping branch tips. It is not native to the United States, where it is grown as an ornamental and bonsai tree. It is also called temple juniper.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A shrub or small tree, usually about 20–33 ft (6–10 m) tall, with graceful, drooping branch tips.
- Leaves
- Slender, sharp needles about 0.4–0.9 in (10–23 mm) long grow in of three. The upper side is grooved, with a narrow white band.
- Fruit
- Male and female cones grow on separate plants. The berry-like seed cones are round, about 0.2–0.35 in (5–9 mm) across, and take about 18 months to ripen from green to dark purple or brown, often with a whitish bloom.
Look-alikes
Common juniperJuniperus communis
Needle juniper has longer, narrower needles with a groove on the upper side, and its branch tips droop more gracefully.
Why they get mixed upBoth have sharp needles in whorls of three and are close relatives.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Dry mountain slopes
- Rocky ground
- Gardens (US)
- Range
- Native to northern China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, Sakhalin, and the Russian Far East. In the US it is known mainly from cultivation.
- Preferred conditions
- In the wild it grows on dry, poor, often rocky ground, from near sea level up to about 7,200 ft (2,200 m).
Growing it
- Care
- Hardy to USDA zone 5. In Japan it is often planted on temple grounds.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
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