Fauna
Plant

Rocky Mountain Juniper

Juniperus scopulorum

Also known as Colorado Red Cedar, Rocky Mountain Cedar, Mountain Red Cedar

Rocky Mountain junipers anchor rugged western landscapes with gnarled trunks, shredding red-brown bark, and aromatic evergreen foliage. Their pale blue, berry-like seed cones mature over two years, providing crucial winter nourishment for songbirds like Townsend's solitaires. Remarkably long-lived, these resilient conifers endure harsh alpine winds and high-desert droughts for more than a millennium.

EvergreenConiferDrought Tolerant
Rocky Mountain Juniper reference1 / 7
(c) John Powers, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by
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Least ConcernConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXLeast ConcernRed List categories, explained →
Key facts
Diet & preySunlight, Water, Soil Minerals
ThreatsSevere wildfire, invasive grasses, prolonged drought
HabitatsDry rocky slopes, canyon rims, mountain ridges, open juniper woodlands
Life span300–1,500 years
Classification
  1. OrderPinales
  2. FamilyCupressaceae
  3. GenusJuniperus
  4. SpeciesJuniperus scopulorum
Range & activity
Range data is not available yet.
Safe observation
Interaction riskLow
  1. Low
  2. Moderate
  3. High
  4. Very high
Why interaction risk is low
Wild berries and cones have toxic look-alikes; never eat wild plant parts based on app identification alone.
Responsible observation
  • Cone Identification: Look for small, fleshy, blue-glaucous cones containing two seeds that mature over two seasons.
  • Bark and Form: Observe the stringy, reddish-brown bark peeling in thin strips along slow-growing, twisted trunks.
  • Winter Wildlife Spotting: Watch for solitary thrushes and waxwings foraging on cone crops during frozen winter months.
Related species
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