Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus

Taxonomy: Fam. Cupressaceae// Genus: Juniperus// Species: Juniperus oxycedrus L.// Subspecies: Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. oxycedrus. 

Determined according to the botanical keys provided by Micevski (1985) and Amaral Franco in Tutin et al. (1964).

Juniperus oxycedrus L. is a polymorphic species, with four recognized subspecies (The Euro+Med PlantBase, source: Raab-Straube, 2014+). According to recent studies (Adams, 2004; Adams et al., 2005; 2015), East Mediterranean populations of J. oxycedrus L. var. oxycedrus belong to a separate cryptic species Juniperus deltoides R.P. Adams, genetically distinct but morphologically very similar species to J. oxycedrus. Morphologically, J. deltoides differs from J. oxycedrus in having the leaf base nearly as wide or wider than the blade (mid-point), stomatal bands flat to scarcely sunken; seed cones with raised cone scale tips, shrubs and trees with pyramidal crown (Adams, 2014). Regarding the key morphological traits, populations from the Osogovo region fit into J. deltoides.

Distribution: Juniperus oxycedrus L. is native from the Mediterranean region to Middle East (The Euro+Med PlantBase; EUFORGEN). According to Adams (2014), Adams et al. (2015) and the Plants of the World Online portal (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) in the eastern part of the range – from Italy to Iran comes J. deltoides, while J. oxycedrus is restricted to the Western Mediterranean.

Lifeform:  Perennial, evergreen shrub or small tree; Microphanerophyte according to the  Raunkiær system.

Habitat: A Mediterranean species found on xero-thermophilus sites- hill pastures, dry grasslands, rocky terrains, river gorges, shrublands and forests mainly in the zone with sub-Mediterranean influence (Querco-carpineum orientalis ass.).

Flowering period: Spring: MAY.

References:

Adams, R. P. (2004). Juniperus deltoides, a new species, and nomenclatural notes on Juniperus polycarpos and J. turcomanica (Cupressaceae). Phytologia 86(2), pp. 47-51. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40749131#page/1/mode/1up [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Adams, R.P. (2014). Morphological comparison and key to Juniperus deltoides and J. oxycedrus. Phytologia 96(2), pp. 58 – 62. https://www.phytologia.org/uploads/2/3/4/2/23422706/96258-62adams_deltoides_oxycedrus_key_morphology.pdf [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Adams, R.P., Farzaliyev, V., Gucel, S., Leschner, H.V., Mataraci, T., Tashev, A.N. and Schwarzbach, A.E. (2015). nrDNA and petN-psbM sequencing reveals putative Juniperus oxycedrus L. from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Israel to be J. deltoides R. P. Adams. Phytologia 97(4), pp. 286 -290. http://www.phytologia.org/uploads/2/3/4/2/23422706/97_4_286-290adams_taxonomy_of_j._deltoides_cyprus_and_israel.pdf [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Adams, R. P., Morris, J.A., Pandey, R.N., Schwarzbach, A.E. (2005). Cryptic speciation between Juniperus deltoides and Juniperus oxycedrus (Cupressaceae) in the Mediterranean. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 33(8), pp. 771-787. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305197805000736 [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Juniperus deltoides R.P.Adams. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60436244-2 [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Juniperus oxycedrus. EUFORGEN – European Forest Genetic Resources Programme. https://www.euforgen.org/species/juniperus-oxycedrus/ [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Juniperus oxycedrus L. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:262299-1 [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Juniperus oxycedrus. Source: Raab-Straube, E. von (2014+): Gymnospermae. – In: Euro+Med Plantbase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published on the Internet https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/3f0cb28b-3600-4c19-b6af-3583ee582a33 [Accessed 31.12.2022].

Juniperus L. Amaral Franco, J. in Tutin, T.G., Heywood, V.H., Burges, N.A., Moore, D.M., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M., & Webb, D.A. (1964). Flora Europaea. Volume 1. Lycopodiaceae to Platanaceae. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 38 – 39.

Juniperus L. Micevski, K. (1985). The Flora of SR Macedonia Vol. 1, Book 1. Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, pp. 81 – 84.

Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus. Raab-Straube, E. von (2014+): Gymnospermae. – In: Euro+Med Plantbase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Published on the Internet https://europlusmed.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/a31d005d-13f1-4ca4-b860-500aa79e5353 [Accessed 31.12.2022].