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Juniperus procumbens
is a low-growing juniper native to the southern
Japan. The USDA Germplasm Resources Information
Network (GRIN) has the species as a synonym of
Juniperus chinensis L. var. procumbens
Endl. and lists no accessions under this name.
[1]
A recumbent plant, it usually grows to 8" if
given adequate space, will bunch to 2 feet if
crowded. The branches intertwine and form a
dense mat. The leaves are arranged in decussate
whorls of three; all the leaves are juvenile
form, needle-like, 6-8 mm long and 1-1.5 mm
broad, with two white stomatal bands on the
inner face. It is dioecious. The cones are
berry-like, globose, 8-9 mm in diameter, dark
blackish-brown with a pale blue-white waxy
bloom, and contain two or three seeds. They
mature in about 18 months. The male cones are
3-4 mm long, and shed their pollen in early
spring.
It is very a popular ornamental plant in Japan,
and also occasionally elsewhere in temperate
regions, used for ground cover in rockeries and
as bonsai.
"Nana' - One of the finest groundcover junipers,
this old favorite grows similar to the species,
but is more dwarfed. Plants appear as a neat,
mounded mat of small branchlets 2' tall and up
to 10' wide. The plant mounds on itself with age
and develops a slight purple cast in winter."
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