Juniperus Osteosperma (Utah Juniper)

Juniperus Osteosperma, It is the most common tree in the Great Basin and is widely distributed across southwestern United States from Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and into eastern California. It's a shrub or small tree that is perennial and reaches 3-6 m (rarely to 9 m) tall. Juniperus Osteosperma grows at moderate altitudes of 1,300-2,600m, often together with Pinus monophylla. It is tolerant of a wide variety of soil conditions, but grows well on dry, rocky sites. It's shade intolerant. This plant occurs in areas of hot summers and cold winters. It is often found in areas of 12 to 18 inches of precipitation. Their leaves are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or whorls of three; the adult leaves are scale-like, 1-2 mm long (to 5 mm on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 mm broad. The juvenile leaves are needle-like, 5-10 mm long. Utah Juniper reproduces by seeds in cones. The cones are berry-like, 8-13 mm in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two); they mature in about 18 months. Their seeds germinate in late spring and have a dormant embryos and an impermeable seedcoats, so they need a period of "after-ripening" and usually germinate the second season following maturity. This plant is largely monoecious with both sexes on the same plant, but around 10 % of plants are dioecious, producing cones of only one sex. Juniperus Osteosperma has been utilized throughout history for many purposes. It was widely employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes to treat a variety of complaints such as stomach aches, kidney complaints, haemorrhages, coughs and colds etc. Almost every part of this plant has a medicinal use. Besides its healing properties, Juniperus Osteosperma also serve as an ingredient for many product that we use on daily basis, its wood for instance is occasionally used for fuel.

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Utah Juniper (Juniperus Osteosperma) leaves, female cones male cones, and galls (center)

Utah Juniper growing in a dry wash
Pah Rah Range, western Nevada