The Tree

Alligator Juniper is a tree which attains a height of only 80 to 45 feet, but has a short, thick trunk from two to four feet in diameter. Unlike the other junipers this species has a thick, deeply fissured, dark red-brown bark from one to four inches thick, Checkered into scaly squares resembling alligator hide, which fact doubtless gave rise to its common name. The branches are thick and stubby, and the shape of the tree is generally distorted and uncanny in appearance. It resists drought and finds root in seemingly impossible places among the rocks and canyon walls. The short, compact, scale-like leaves are blue-green. When crushed the foliage emits a pungently aromatic odor. The berrylike, pulpy fruit is dark red-brown covered with a whitish bloom. The Indians of the Southwest grind the dry berries into a meal which they use to prepare a cake which is baked in the sun.

Alligator Juniper tree bark

Common Names in Use

• Alligator Juniper (Ariz)
• Checkered-barked Juniper (lit)
• Juniper (Ariz., N. Mex.)
• Mountain Cedar (Tex.)
• Oak-barked Cedar (Ariz.)
• Oakbark Juniper (Ariz.)
• Thick-barked Juniper (Calif., lit.)

Growth Range

This juniper is found in southwestern Texas, along the desert ranges in southern New Mexico and southern Arizona, and also southward into Mexico. The tree grows in dry, arid mountain slopes in the higher elevations of 4,000 to 9,000 feet.

The Wood

The heartwood of the Alligator Juniper is light, soft, brittle, close-grained, has a clear, light-yellowish-tan-brown color often streaked with light-red, or a brownish-yellow. The narrow sapwood is nearly white. The wood is aromatic with an odor resembling that of alligator leather, strong and pungent, as compared with the pleasant odor of the other junipers. The grain of the trunk is usually straight and may be easily worked with all kinds of tools. This wood finishes beautifully. It lacks any outstanding figure.

Alligator Juniper by Hough

Uses

The texture of the wood is such that it could well be used for pencils, but the trunks are usually too short for pencil bolts, and the tree is insufficient in abundance for general commercial use, except for fence posts. In the home workshop in vicinities where it is available, Alligator Juniper should find a welcome place with the other Junipers for making furniture and beautiful novelties.

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