Juniperus macrocarpa

{{Short description|Species of conifer}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Juniperus macrocarpa Paros3.jpg

| image_caption = Juniperus macrocarpa in sand dune habitat, Paros Island, Greece

|status = LC

|status_system = IUCN3.1

|status_ref = {{Cite iucn |title=Juniperus macrocarpa |author=Farjon, A. |name-list-style=amp |page= e.T16348745A16348765 |date=2013 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T16348745A16348765.en |access-date=27 January 2024}}

| genus = Juniperus

| parent = Juniperus sect. Juniperus

| species = macrocarpa

| authority = Sibth. & Sm.

}}

Juniperus macrocarpa (large-fruited juniper, syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa (Sibth. & Sm.) Ball) is a species of juniper, native across the northern Mediterranean Region from southwestern Spain{{cite journal|last=Muñoz-Reinoso|first=José Carlos|title=Diversity of maritime juniper woodlands|journal=Forest Ecology and Management|date=6 May 2004|volume=192|issue=2–3|pages=267–276|doi=10.1016/j.foreco.2004.01.039|bibcode=2004ForEM.192..267M }} east to western Turkey and Cyprus, growing on coastal sand dunes from sea level up to {{Convert|75|m|abbr=off}} in altitude.Adams, R. P. (2004). Junipers of the World. Trafford. {{ISBN|1-4120-4250-X}}Farjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. {{ISBN|1-84246-068-4}} A single, isolated tree is found further west, in a cliff in southern Portugal.{{cite journal |last1=Sánchez-Gullon |first1=E. |last2=Javier Nieva |first2=F. |last3=Muñoz Rodríguez |first3=A.F. |title=El enebro costero, novedad para Portugal |journal=Conservación Vegetal |date=2015 |volume=19 |pages=4 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280525886}}

Image:Juniperus macrocarpa Paros1.jpg

It is a spreading shrub {{Convert|2–5|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}} tall, rarely a small tree up to {{Convert|14|m|abbr=on}} tall. The leaves are broad lanceolate, produced in whorls of three, green, {{Convert|12–20|mm|frac=4}} long and 2–3 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band split by a green midrib on the inner surface. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 12–18 mm diameter, and have six fused scales in two whorls, three of the scales with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter.Arboretum de Villardebelle: [http://www.pinetum.org/cones/JUcones.htm photos of cones and shoots]

Despite its distinct morphology with large cones and broad leaves more like those of Juniperus drupacea, it has often been treated as a subspecies of Juniperus oxycedrus, though recent genetic studiesAdams, R. P. (2000). Systematics of Juniperus section Juniperus based on leaf essential oils and RAPD DNA fingerprinting. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 28: 515-528. [http://www.juniperus.org/AdamsPapersPDFFiles/160-2000bBIOCH28515.pdf available online (pdf file)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721171830/http://www.juniperus.org/AdamsPapersPDFFiles/160-2000bBIOCH28515.pdf |date=2011-07-21 }}Adams, R. P., Morris, J. A., Pandey, R. N., & Schwarzbach, A. E. (2005). Cryptic speciation between Juniperus deltoides and J. oxycedrus (Cupressaceae) in the Mediterranean. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 33: 771-787. [http://www.juniperus.org/AdamsPapersPDFFiles/182-2005BSE33-771.pdf available online (pdf file)] have shown its DNA is distinct from that of J. oxycedrus.