Juniperus communis var. saxatilis

Juniperus communis var. saxatilis Pall., Fl. Ross. 1(2): 12 1789. (syn: Juniperus alpina Hill; Juniperus alpina Gray [Illegitimate]; Juniperus caesia Regel [Illegitimate]; Juniperus communis var. alpina Gaudin; Juniperus communis subsp. alpina (Gaudin) Celak.; Juniperus communis var. alpina Suter; Juniperus communis var. caucasica Endl.; Juniperus communis var. montana Aiton; Juniperus communis var. nana (Willd.) Baumg.; Juniperus communis subsp. nana Syme; Juniperus communis var. nana (Willd.) Loudon; Juniperus communis subsp. pygmaea (K.Koch) Imkhan.; Juniperus communis subsp. saxatilis (Pall.) A.E.Murray; Juniperus communis var. sibirica (Burgsd.) Rydb.; Juniperus montana (Aiton) Lindl. & Gordon; Juniperus nana Willd. [Illegitimate]; Juniperus nana var. alpina (Gaudin) Endl.; Juniperus nana var. montana (Aiton) Endl.; Juniperus oblonga M.Bieb.; Juniperus pygmaea K.Koch; Juniperus rebunensis Kudô & Sasaki; Juniperus sibirica Burgsd.; Juniperus sibirica var. montana (Aiton) Beck);

As per efi thread;
J communis: Leaves 6-12 mm long, broader, spreading, spiniscent at tip, concave above with central glaucous band, seeds 2-3
J. squamata: leaves 3-6 mm long, narrower, pointed forward, gradually narrowed to tip, margins incurved, seed single.

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Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae.

It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.
Juniperus communis is a shrub or small coniferous evergreen tree, very variable and often a low spreading shrub, but occasionally reaching 10 m tall. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface. It is dioecious, with male and female cones on separate plants, which are wind pollinated.
The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating; they are spherical, 4–12 mm diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fused scales, each scale with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The male cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in March–April.[2][3][4]
As to be expected from the wide range, J. communis is very variable, with several infraspecific taxa; delimitation between the taxa is still uncertain, with genetic data not matching morphological data well.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Juniperus communis is cultivated in the horticulture trade and used as an evergreen ornamental shrub in gardens.
(From Wikipedia on 19.12.13)
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Gymnosperms fortnight ::Cupressaceae: Juniperus communis from Paddar valley SKR06: Attachments (2). 2 posts by 2 authors.
Juniperus communis from Paddar valley J&K
As per GRIN, only Juniperus communis L. var. saxatilis Pall. has native range in India.
Flora of Pakistan also gives Juniperus communis L. var. saxatilis Pall. only.
If it is wild, than I think it should be taken as Juniperus communis L. var. saxatilis Pall.

Nepali Name : धुपी Dhupee

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Alpine zones of the Himalaya are extremely cold areas and more so in the autumn season. As visible in attached picture the water drops from a nearby stream freeze on twig apices making a long ice stick. It must be very cold in night…. as I measured once it was 12 degrees below freezing point in a November night.
But, this Juniper seems unaffected; it is adapted to even lower temperature.
The last word, please suggest ID of this Juniperus. It is a dwarf shrub in Kedarnath alpine zone of Uttarakhand.

I hope Juniperus squamosa

W.r.t. ‘I hope Juniperus squamosa“, Juniperus squamosa Buch.-Ham.is a synonym of Juniperus recurva Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don, which is not found in wild in India as per details a efi page: Juniperus

Juniperus communis

Thank you … However, looking for the final word from the expert.

… is expert of plants of western Himalaya and his work was focused on Kedarnath area where he spent most of his time during his PhD studies. Now he has broadened his focus and still works on the Himalayas only.

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Gymnosperm Fortnight: Juniperus sp. for ID: 121213: GSG-05 : Attachments (1). 5 posts by 3 authors.
Juniperus communis (??), a spreading shrub, photographed from Kinnaur. 

efi page on species found in wild in India: Juniperus communis var. saxatilis 

Yes, seems to be J. communis

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This Juniperus is an alpine Juniper shot in Alaknanda valley (Chamoli, Uttarakhand) at an altitude of 3700m.
It makes compact shrubs rarely exceeding 2 ft in height.

Juniperus species in efi

Juniperus recurva Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don ??

Habit looks different as per

https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/gallery?taxon_key=2684844
Hi, …, What are the species reported from your area ?

to best of my knowledge, it is Juniperus communis.

Only Juniperus communis var. saxatilis is reported from India as per POWO.

I think it is J. communis.

On the recommendations of experts I am taking it as J. communis L.

I guess close to Juniperus squamata Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don !

J communis seems better choice
J communis: Leaves 6-12 mm long, broader, spreading, spiniscent at tip, concave above with central glaucous band, seeds 2-3
J. squamata: leaves 3-6 mm long, narrower, pointed forward, gradually narrowed to tip, margins incurved, seed single.

 

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References:

The Plant List  WCSP  GRIN  Wikipedia