Santa Fe Botanical Garden

Common name: alligator juniper, táscate, táscale, táscal, táscate blanco, huata, cedro

Family: Cupressaceae (Cypress)

Distribution: New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Mexico

Habitat: Montane slopes, canyons, foothills

IUCN Red list: Least concern

Hardiness: USDA Zone 6 (-10 to 0 °F)

Life form: Evergreen tree

Occurrence in New Mexico: New Mexico native plant

Growing Conditions: The alligator juniper grows in the mountains of west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and throughout Mexico as far south as Oaxaca. It is typically found on open, rocky slopes and hills in full sun at elevations from 4,500-10,000 feet. In New Mexico, it is most common in the western mountains, growing in association with piñons, other junipers, scrub oaks and ponderosa pines. It is both cold and heat tolerant and needs only a low amount of water. It is not particular about soil type and grows in sand, loam, clay, rocky and calcareous soils.

Description: The alligator juniper is the largest southwestern juniper, growing up to 65 feet tall (usually 20-40 feet) and with a diameter up to 7 feet. It usually has a single main trunk with a rounded crown produced by ascending, spreading branches. The trunk and mature branches have thick, deeply fissured gray “alligator” bark, which peels off in rectangular plates. The flattened, scale-like needles are blue-green and obviously glandular. It is usually dioecious (separate male and female plants), producing pollen cones or seed cones (with 1-7 seeds) that mature in 2 years. Mature trees often have a significant portion of dead wood.