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Juniperus squamata

Common name:	Flaky Juniper	Family:	Cupressaceae
Author:	Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don.	Botanical references:	11, 200, 266
Synonyms:	Juniperus recurva squamata ((Buch-Ham. ex D.Don.)Parl.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	E. Asia - China, Himalayas, Afghanistan.
Habitat:	Inner valleys of the Himalayas, 3000 - 4500 metres from Afghanistan to S.W. China[51]. Forests, thickets, valleys and roadsides in mountain areas from 1600 - 4500 metres[266].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	squamata = scaly
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Cypress family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4m by 5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in leaf all year, and the seeds ripen in October. The flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Skin.

The powdered plant is soaked for half an hour in water and then used for washing skin diseases[272].

Other Uses

Fuel Ground cover Incense Wood.

The cultivar 'Blue Carpet' can be used as a ground cover plant in a sunny position[188].
The wood is very fragrant, it is used as a fuel and an incense[51, 158, 272]. The leaves are used as incense[272].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils if they are well drained, preferring a neutral or slightly alkaline soil[1, 11] and succeeding on chalk[200]. A drought tolerant plant once established, succeeding in hot dry positions[200].
This species is closely allied to J. recurva[11].
There are many named forms, selected for their ornamental value[188]. The type species is very slow growing in Britain[185] but the cultivar 'Meyeri' is somewhat faster and more successful.
Dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.

Propagation

The seed requires a period of cold stratification. The seed has a hard seedcoat and can be very slow to germinate, requiring a cold period followed by a warm period and then another cold spell, each of 2 - 3 months duration[78, 81]. Soaking the seed for 3 - 6 seconds in boiling water may speed up the germination process[11]. The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some might germinate in the following spring, though most will take another year. Another possibility is to harvest the seed 'green' (when the embryo has fully formed but before the seedcoat has hardened). The seedlings can be potted up into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow on in pots until large enough, then plant out in early summer. When stored dry, the seed can remain viable for several years[1].
Cuttings of mature wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel, September/October in a cold frame. Plant out in the following autumn[1, 78].
Layering in September/October. Takes 12 months[78].

Cultivars

'Meyeri': This form is somewhat faster growing and more successful in Britain than the species[185, 188].
'Blue Carpet': A procumbent form growing about 40cm tall and 3 metres across[200], it can be used as a ground cover plant in a sunny position[188]

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Cupressaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[51] Polunin. O. and Stainton. A. Flowers of the Himalayas. Oxford Universtiy Press 1984
A very readable and good pocket guide (if you have a very large pocket!) to many of the wild plants in the Himalayas. Gives many examples of plant uses.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.

[158] Gupta. B. L. Forest Flora of Chakrata, Dehra Dun and Saharanpur. Forest Research Institute Press 1945
A good flora for the middle Himalayan forests, sparsly illustrated. Not really for the casual reader.

[185] Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975 ISBN 0-11-710012-9
A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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