Template:POTD/2023-10-31
Juniperus brevifolia, or the Azores juniper, is a species of juniper, endemic to the Azores (on the islands of Corvo, Faial, Flores, Pico, Santa Maria, São Jorge, São Miguel, and Terceira), where it occurs at altitudes of 240 to 800 m, and in rare cases up to 1,500 m. It is closely related to J. oxycedrus, the prickly juniper, and J. cedrus, the Canary Islands juniper. J. brevifolia is a shrub or small tree growing to a height of 6 m and a trunk diameter up to 50 cm. The leaves are evergreen, needle-like, in whorls of three, glaucous green, 4 to 10 mm long, with a double white stomatal band 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. The plant is threatened due to habitat fragmentations of its preferred habitat (laurel forest), caused by island colonization and grazing pressures. These J. brevifolia trees were photographed in the Special Protection Area of Zona Central do Pico.Photograph credit: Pablosievert