Family: Cupressaceae, Cypress view all from this family

Description Evergreen tree with short, stout trunk, and rounded, spreading crown, becoming irregular and with branches partly dead in vertical strips.
Height: 20-50' (6-15 m).
Diameter: 2-4' (0.6-1.2 m).
Leaves: opposite; in 4 rows, forming slender, 4-angled twigs; 1/16-1/8" (1.5-3 mm) long. Scalelike, sharp-pointed; blue-green, with gland-dot and often whitish resin drop.
Bark: blackish or gray; thick and rough, deeply furrowed into checkered plates, suggesting an alligator's back.
Cones: 1/2" (12 mm) in diameter; berrylike, brownish with whitish bloom, hard and dry, mealy; 3-5 seeds; maturing second year.

Habitat Rocky hillsides and mountains; with pinyons, other junipers, oaks, and Ponderosa Pine.

Range Trans-Pecos Texas northwest to N. Arizona; also Mexico; at 4500-8000' (1372-2438 m).

Discussion Alligator Juniper is easily recognized by its distinctive bark. One of the largest junipers, it is used for fuel and fenceposts. New sprouts often appear at the base of cut stumps. The large "berries" are consumed by birds and mammals. Large trees often have a partially dead crown of grotesque appearance with some branches that die and turn light gray instead of falling; other branches die only in a vertical strip and continue to grow on the other side.