About Juniperus coahuilensis (Martínez) Gaussen ex R.P.Adams
Juniperus coahuilensis grows as a large shrubby tree reaching up to 8 metres (26 feet) tall, and is typically multi-trunked. Its bark ranges from brown to gray, and peels off in long strips on mature trunks and branches. Its leaves are green to light green, and have glands that can produce a white crystalline exudate. The species produces fleshy, glaucous cones that range in color from yellow-orange to dark red, measure 6–7 millimetres (1⁄4–9⁄32 in) in diameter, and mature over one year. This species is unusual because it sprouts new growth from its stump after being cut or burned. This trait has likely allowed it to persist in grasslands, even though periodic grass fires kill all other juniper species. This shrubby tree is distributed across northern Mexico and parts of the Southwestern United States, including central and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and West Texas (including Big Bend National Park). It grows in high desert grasslands at elevations between 1,200–2,000 m (3,900–6,600 ft), found in Bouteloua spp. grasslands and adjacent rocky areas. In Mexico, it can also grow in canyons or alluvial fans. Within the Chihuahuan Desert and Sonoran Desert ecoregions, it often grows in association with Opuntia spp. and/or Yucca spp.
