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Cupressaceae family

Western Juniper Juniperus grandis

Native

Western Juniper is a perennial tree native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Juniperus grandis, known as Sierra juniper, Sierra western juniper, and western juniper, is a tree or tall shrub that is endemic to the Western United States. It is sometimes considered a variety or subspecies of Juniperus occidentalis, which is also known as western juniper. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 10 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Tree layer (canopy / understory) — Sits in the tree of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~42 caterpillar species

Juniperus supports ~42 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a strong genus.

Recorded feeding on Juniperus in North America, including:

Abagrotis glenni · owlet moth Abagrotis hennei · owlet moth Abagrotis mirabilis · Black Cedar Dart Aethes rutilana · leafroller moth Argyresthia affinis · ermine moth Argyresthia alternatella · ermine moth
+ 8 more species →
Argyresthia annettella · ermine moth Argyresthia cupressella · ermine moth Argyresthia freyella · ermine moth Argyresthia quadristrigella · ermine moth Argyrotaenia cockerellana · leafroller moth Bucculatrix inusitata · ribbed cocoon-maker moth Celypha cespitana · leafroller moth Choristoneura fumiferana · Spruce Budworm
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[09] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[10] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[12] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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