Juniperus excelsa M. Bieb.
العلعلان، علعلان
For people
- Eaten by people
- Unknown
- Toxic to people
- Unknown
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Limited fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Unknown
Edibility and safety notes
Not documented as a food plant in Oman; one reference says the seed cones of the related Persian juniper are eaten raw or cooked, but this is a single report and juniper berries of some species (e.g. Juniperus sabina) are toxic, so do not eat them. Juniper foliage and berries contain aromatic terpenes that can irritate the kidneys in quantity and are traditionally avoided in pregnancy. Goats and feral donkeys browse the foliage, especially young trees, but it is not a valued fodder and the terpenes limit intake. In Oman the tree is Endangered; do not cut or harvest it.
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Description
A large evergreen shrub or tree reaching 6-20 m tall with a trunk up to 2 m in diameter and a broadly conical to rounded crown. It has juvenile needle-like leaves on seedlings and adult scale-leaves on older plants, with berry-like blue-black cones 6-11 mm in diameter containing 3-6 seeds.
Habitat
High mountains in semi-arid areas: open juniper woodland on rocky slopes and in shaded wadis of the Western Hajar (Jabal Akhdar, Jabal Shams), mostly above 2000 m and healthiest above about 2400 m, sometimes with wild olive.
Distribution
The Omani tree (Juniperus seravschanica) ranges from south-eastern Iran through Afghanistan, Pakistan and the western Himalaya to Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, southern Kazakhstan), with an isolated southernmost population in the Western Hajar Mountains of northern Oman (Jabal Akhdar, Jabal Shams). Juniperus excelsa in the strict sense occurs in the Balkans, Türkiye, Cyprus, the Levant and the Caucasus.
Pastoral value
Browsed to some extent by goats and feral donkeys, which damages young trees and hinders regeneration; not a valued fodder.
Other uses
Multi-purpose tree used for medicine, incense, construction materials, fencing, household articles, and decoration. The foliage is burnt as incense. Wood used in building construction.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.92)
- POWO — Juniperus seravschanica Kom. — powo.science.kew.org
- POWO — Juniperus excelsa M.Bieb. — powo.science.kew.org
- Wikipedia — Juniperus seravschanica — en.wikipedia.org
- MacLaren (Coventry Univ.) — Climate change drives decline of Juniperus seravschanica in Oman (postprint) — pure.coventry.ac.uk
- Useful Temperate Plants — Juniperus excelsa — temperate.theferns.info