1c. Juniperus communis var. depressa Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 646. 1814.
Juniperus communis subsp. depressa (Pursh) Franco
Shrubs prostrate or low with ascending branchlet tips (occasionally spreading shrubs to 3 m, rarely small trees to 10 m). Leaves upturned, to 15 ยด 1.6 mm, rarely spreading, linear, glaucous stomatal band about as wide as each green marginal band, apex acute and mucronate to acuminate. Seed cones 6--9 mm, shorter than leaves. 2 n = 22.
Rocky soil, slopes, and summits; 0--2800 m; Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Ariz., Calif., Colo., Conn., Ga., Idaho, Ill., Ind., Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., Nev., N.H., N.Mex., N.Y., N.C., N.Dak., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Utah, Vt., Va., Wash., Wis., Wyo.
In the flora, larger individuals of this variety (to 10 m) have been misidentified as var. communis .