Juniperus communis var. depressa Pursh

Cupressaceae Juniperus communis L. var. depressa Pursh
det. M. Nee, 2016
WISCONSIN, Richland Co., 3.8 km E of Gotham, Button
Bluff, NE of Button Cemetery along Hwy. JJ.
T 9 N; R 2 E; NEVSNWi* Sect. 34.
43°13’1 i”N, 90°14’36”W. alt. 270 m.
Very steep S-facing bluff of Wisconsin River valley, with dry
prairie heavily invaded by Juniperus virginiana and a few J.
communis var. depressa and Populus grandidentata.
This species occasional, most stems dead or moribund from
shading by the much taller J. virginiana. Shrub forming a
flattened mass 5 m. in diameter, to 1.5 m. high; primary stem
15 cm. in diameter, but leaning and soon branching irregularly
into more or less horizontal branches and difficult to find a
clean stem to make a wood specimen, this specimen 9 cm. in
longest diameter, the pith very excentric, 55 years old.
Voucher for wood specimens at Kw, Lw, MADw, MEXUw,
RSAw. Wood only faintly aromatic when fresh and light
colored, very different from the denser, purplish-red and very
fragrant wood of J. virginiana; sapwood light-colored;
heartwood scarcely distinct in color, slightly darker tan.
Foliage prickly; leaves produced in 2015 glaucous adaxially.
Coll.: M. Nee 62902	27 April 2016
Missouri Botanical Garden (MO)
03188862