Arapaho: Be'3eino'o
English: Rocky Mountain juniper
Navajo: gad ni̛ eełíi
Zuni: homaik̛ yahaya
Spanish: Enebro de las Montañas Rocosas
Natural history
Rocky Mountain juniper is a shrub or tree common throughout much of western North America. In the Colorado Rockies it occurs from 4000 to 10,000 feet where it can often be found on dry slopes alongside Pinyon pine, sagebrush, Ponderosa pine, and Gambel oak. Its leaves are evergreen, small, and overlapping, resembling tiny scales more than typical leaves. Like all conifers, Rocky Mountain juniper does not produce true fruit, and what are commonly referred to as juniper “berries” are actually fleshy seed cones more closely related to those produced by pine trees and their relatives.
Junipers can often be easily recognized by their shredding, fibrous bark, but Rocky Mountain and Utah Juniper can be difficult to differentiate at first glance, especially where their ranges overlap. However, with closer observation the two can be readily distinguished. Rocky Mountain juniper tends to have comparatively narrower and drooping terminal twig tips and smaller seed cones than those of Utah juniper, whose stouter terminal twig tips are oriented laterally to upward.
The seed cones of Rocky Mountain juniper provide a source of food for many bird species, such as robins, turkeys, and numerous species of jays during fall and winter months when other food sources are unavailable and are also similarly utilized by Bighorn sheep and deer.
Human history and use
Regionally, the foliage of juniper species has been used by the Hopi as a poultice for the treatment of closed wounds and as a disinfectant applied to participants after burial ceremonies. Juniper has numerous ceremonial uses among the Navajo, who have also used its cones to make a decoction for the treatment of influenza, as well as its fibers in the construction of dwellings, garments, sandals, and blankets. The fibrous shredding bark of juniper is also a handy source of tinder used to catch the ember produced by a fire drill.
References:
Ackerfield, J. 2022. Flora of Colorado. Fort Worth, TX: Brit Press.
Burns, R. M., and B. H. Honkala. 1990. Silvics of North America. Retrieved from Silvics Manual Volume 1-Conifers and Volume 2-Hardwoods: https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/table_of_contents.htm (2024, November 16)
Carter, J. L. 1997. Trees and Shrubs of New Mexico. Silver City, NM: Mimbres Publishing
Moerman D. E. 1998. Native American Ethnobotany. Portland, OR: Timber Press.
Watson F. D. and J. E. Eckenwalder. 1993. Cupressaceae, pp 399-422 in Flora of North America Editorial Committee [eds.] Flora of North America North of Mexico, Vol. 2. Oxford University Press, New York.
Photo credit:
Photos by Mike Jacob.