Western juniper is a species of plants of the genus Juniper of the Cypress family , in natural conditions it grows in the mountainous regions of the western United States at an altitude of 800-3000 m above sea ​​level
Shrubs or trees , monoecious or dioecious , up to 26-30 m high, with one trunk . The crown is conical or rounded. The bark is red-brown to brown, peeling off in thin stripes; smooth on small twigs (5-10 mm thick); on large ones it flakes off with scales or flakes. The branches diverge horizontally or upward, the branches are straight, three-quadrangular in cross-section, the length is or less of the length of the scaly leaves. The leaves are green, located on the stem opposite in two pairs of criss-cross or three around the stem; the glands in the lower part are oval or elliptical, clearly visible, with yellow or white discharge, they have denticles at the edges. Mature leaves are scaly, 1-3 mm long (up to 5 mm on the main shoot) and 1-1.5 mm wide, do not overlap, round, at the end can be either sharp or obtuse. Young leaves (on young seedlings only) are acicular, 5-10 mm long. Female cones in the form of berries ( cones ), 5-10 mm in diameter, blue-brown, with a white waxy coating, ripen every 2 years, contain from one to three seeds . Male cones 2-4 mm long, shed pollen in early spring.
