About Juniperus canariensis Knight ex Gordon, 1858
Juniperus canariensis is a woody plant species in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the Canary Islands and Madeira, which lie off the coast of Northwestern Africa. This species was historically classified as part of Juniperus phoenicea, a species that is now considered to grow only in Spain and France. After J. phoenicea was later split into two separate species, J. phoenicea and J. turbinata, Juniperus canariensis was reclassified as part of J. turbinata, which is distributed across the Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula. Genetic and morphological studies of the J. phoenicea species complex, published in 2017 and 2018, found that the Macaronesian population of this plant deserves recognition as a distinct species, with a status equal to that of J. phoenicea (sensu stricto) and J. turbinata.
