Juniperus rigida

Juniperus rigida
Foliage and immature cones
Conservation status
Least Concern(IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Gymnospermae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Cupressales
Family:	Cupressaceae
Genus:	Juniperus
Species:	J. rigida
Binomial name
Juniperus rigida Siebold&Zucc.

Juniperus rigida,thetemple juniper,is a species ofjuniper,native to northern China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and the far southeast of Russia (SakhalinandPrimorsky Krai), occurring at altitudes of 10–2,200 metres (33–7,218 ft). The species is also naturalized in the United States (CaliforniaandAlabama). It is closely related toJuniperus communis(common juniper) andJuniperus conferta(shore juniper), the latter sometimes treated as a variety or subspecies ofJ. rigida.

Tree

It is ashrubor smalltreegrowing to a height of 6–10 metres (20–33 ft) and a trunk diameter up to 50 centimetres (20 in). Theleavesareevergreen,needle-like, in whorls of three, bright green to yellowish-green,10–23 millimetres (1⁄2–1 in) long and 1–1.3 mm broad, with a single whitestomatalband on the inner surface. It isdioecious,with separate male and female plants. Theseed conesareberry-like,green ripening in 18 months to dark purple or brownish with a variable whitish waxy coating; they are spherical, 5–9 mm diameter, and have three (rarely six) fused scales in one (rarely two) whorls of three, each with a singleseed(when six scales, only the three larger scales with seeds). The seeds are dispersed whenbirdseat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen cones are yellow, 3–5 mm long, and fall soon after shedding theirpollenin spring.

It is grown as anornamental tree,often planted intemplegrounds in Japan. It is also often grown asbonsai.

Gallery

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  Specimen tree
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  Pendulous branchlets
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  Foliage
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  Foliage and pollen cones
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  Bark
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  Trained as a bonsai.