Juniperus
Juniperus in Antalya
Overview
There are 8 Junipers that might be expected in the Antalya region (the same as in Turkey although some subtaxa are not found in Antalya), and there are some cultivated ones grown in parks.
Foliage and Fruit - Generally speaking, juvenile Junipers have leaves which tend to be long and spiky, which over time transition to adult leaves that may also be long and spikey, but may be more like scales, slightly spikey or blunt. As a result, there are two ID keys here depending on what you have. It's important to look around the tree and on the ground for fruits so as to open them and do a seed count. J. foetidissima and J. sabina have a disagreeable smell to the crushed foliage, but it must be remembered people vary in their sense of smell.
Scientific Names - J. oxycedrus was relatively recently split into two species based on molecular evidence, so that Turkey's J. oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus is now J. deltoides, and subsp. macrocarpa is currently J. macrocarpa. However it is felt by some that given J. deltoides is determined molecularly rather than from outward characteristics, it would be better to keep them as subspecies. If nothing else, molecular studies rarely use a large number of specimens and berries are carried by birds and could be seeded outside the known distribution, so it's not really possible to rule out that the two species might not in fact grow in proximity in some place (and maybe even have genetic interchange between them) beyond their existing overlap (both species occur in Italy).
On the Flora of Turkey maps, J. communis and J. sabina are recorded from the regions E and W of Antalya, therefore they have been included here, as it is quite reasonable any presence would be overlooked.
ID: Focussed on Fruit
• Fruit are bluey-black, often white-surfaced until maturity ('bloomed')
• Leaves long and narrow, like daggers or swords projecting widely (1+ cm); usually sharp-tipped but may be bluntish.
drupacea - broad green mid-line on leaf upperside extends nearly to the tip, running between two well-separated broad white lines; seeds 1 large stone (formed of 3 joined); mature fruits large (20-25 mm); 1000-1550 m.
communis var. saxatilis - very thin or absent green mid-line, visually not extending far or appearing as one broad white line; seeds 3 loose; 1100-2600 m (prob. 2000+ m in Antalya). var. saxatilis = nana has dense incurved leaves, with a tendency to be bushier (to 6m) than the European forms that are more mat-like.
• Leaves short (< 3(5) mm; unless very young: look near twig tips), either scale-like and not spiny or if somewhat spiny, then short. Note that in checking fruits for seeds, fresh ones can be very sticky and are best taken home; old dried ones from the ground will be better for opening in the field.
sabina - bushes to 1m (4.5 m) often forming a carpet effect, fruits on bent stalks frequently (bending down or bending across), stalks consequently of significant size; crushed leaves give disagreeable smell; seeds 2 usually; 1400-2000 m; example bent-down fruits.
foetidissima - crushed leaves with foetid smell; fruits not on bent stalks, seeds 1-2(3); scale leaves widely spreading even to the twiglet tips, and also on the hardened twigs, until tree quite old.
excelsa subsp. excelsa - crushed leaves not foetid; fruits not on bent stalks, seeds 4-6(9); scale leaves poorly spreading and not at the twiglet tips, and also poorly spreading on the hardened twigs.
• Fruit are brown, reddish or yellow, without whitening except in small patches.
phoenicia - leaves small very neat unprotruding scales so that the twiglets resemble scaly worms.
Leaves long and spiny
macrocarpa = oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa - fruits 10-20 mm mature, leaf width to 2.5 mm (at leaf base).
deltoides = oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus - fruits 6-8 mm mature, leaf width to 1.5 mm (at leaf base).
ID: Focussed on Adult Leaves
This ordering better represents the genetic relationships.
• Leaves long and narrow, like daggers or swords projecting widely (1+ cm); usually sharp-tipped but may be bluntish.
• Fruit are bluey-black, often white-surfaced until maturity ('bloomed')
drupacea - broad green mid-line on leaf upperside extends nearly to the tip, running between two well-separated broad white lines; seeds 1 large stone (formed of 3 joined); mature fruits large (20-25 mm); 1000-1550 m.
communis var. saxatilis - very thin or absent green mid-line, visually not extending far or appearing as one broad white line; seeds 3 loose; 1100-2600 m (prob. 2000+ m in Antalya). var. saxatilis = nana has dense incurved leaves, with a tendency to be bushier (to 6m) than the European forms that are more mat-like.
• Fruit are brown, reddish or yellow, without whitening except in small patches.
macrocarpa = oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa - fruits 10-20 mm mature, leaf width to 2.5 mm (at leaf base).
deltoides = oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus - fruits 6-8 mm mature, leaf width to 1.5 mm (at leaf base).
• Leaves short (< 3(5) mm; unless very young: look near twig tips), either scale-like and not spiny or if somewhat spiny, then short. Note that in checking fruits for seeds, fresh ones can be very sticky and are best taken home; old dried ones from the ground will be better for opening in the field.
• Fruit are bluey-black, often white-surfaced until maturity ('bloomed')
sabina - bushes to 1m (4.5 m) often forming a carpet effect, fruits on bent stalks frequently (bending down or bending across), stalks consequently of significant size; crushed leaves give disagreeable smell; seeds 2 usually; 1400-2000 m; example bent-down fruits.
foetidissima - crushed leaves with foetid smell; fruits not on bent stalks, seeds 1-2(3); scale leaves widely spreading even to the twiglet tips, and also on the hardened twigs, until tree quite old.
excelsa subsp. excelsa - crushed leaves not foetid; fruits not on bent stalks, seeds 4-6(9); scale leaves poorly spreading and not at the twiglet tips, and also poorly spreading on the hardened twigs.
• Fruit are brown, reddish or yellow, without whitening except in small patches.
phoenicia - leaves small very neat unprotruding scales so that the twiglets resemble scaly worms.
ID: Small Plants (bush-sized to small tree; not extremely tiny)
• Small Junipers tend to have spiny-tipped juvenile leaves ("aciculars"), which may be mixed in with emerging adult leaves, or transitioning to adult leaves. The challenge is to spot the transitioning or adult leaves. Adult plants around should also be considered, though bearing in mind junipers have berries that may be dropped by birds a distance from where they were taken. What follows is a work-in-progress for identifying them constructed from looking at photos I could find.
Twiglet tips have small scale-leaves (blunt or pointed, appressed or half-spreading).
phoenicia - aciculars are only produced as a very tiny plant (and seem to be very long where visible), so most the foliage will be very neat appressed scale leaves forming worm-like twiglets; white gland resin spots c.0; to 350 m; example.
excelsa subsp. excelsa - shortish aciculars continue until the plants are quite large, however the final leaves on such twiglets are appressed scales and blunt; white gland resin spots often prolific when younger; leaves lacking a foetid smell; 300-2300 m; example.
foetidissima - shortish aciculars somewhat spreading which continue to the twiglet tips until mature and tree-like (when they become blunt scales rather like excelsa), these aciculars are much more brightly white-trimmed than excelsa; little glandy? crushed leaves with strong foetid smell (not everyone will be good at smelling this); 700-1900 m; example.
sabina - todo; crushed leaves foetid.
Twiglet tips have long dagger/sword-like leaves like the rest, entirely lacking small scale-leaves (because even the maturest plants lack scale leaves).
drupacea, communis var. saxatilis or deltoides=oxycedrus.
Selected Resources
• 2021 Türkiyenin Ardıçları (The Junipers of Turkey) by Mustafa Gökmen, Tuğrul Körüklü, Dursun Baş, Fatma Şen Gökmen and other volunteers.
• 2007 Morphological variation of Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus (Cupressaceae) in the Mediterranean region by Małgorzata Klimko, Krystyna Boratynska, Jose Maria Montserrat, Yakov Didukh, Angel Romo, Daniel Gomez, Magdalena Kluza-Wieloch, Katarzyna Marcysiak, Adam Boratynski.
• 1993 Flora Europaea, ed 2, vol 1, T G Tutin et al.
• 1966 A Handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae, ed 4 by W. Dallimore and Bruce Jackson (p234 onward; requires free login to borrow).
• 1965 Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, vol 1 by P H Davis (p78 onward; requires free login to borrow).
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