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Juniperus chinensis
In Singapore: Chinese Juniper, 圆柏 (Cultivated in Singapore)
1 NParks heritage tree in Singapore: Found in
Chinese juniper is a very variable evergreen conifer that grows as a tree or shrub, widely planted in gardens and coastal areas and prized for bonsai. Many named cultivars exist, so growth habit and foliage vary a lot between plants.
Juniperus chinensis, the Chinese juniper, is a species of plant in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to China, Myanmar, Japan, Korea and the Russian Far East. Growing 1–20 metres (3+1⁄2–65+1⁄2 feet) tall, it is a very variable coniferous evergreen tree or shrub.
A variety of Juniperus chinensis referred to as "Shimpaku" is one of the top species used in the Japanese art of bonsai. Among the multiple cultivars of Shimpaku found in Japan, the most desirable due to its tight, fine foliage and excellent growing habits, is the "Itoigawa" variety.
This popular ornamental tree or shrub for gardens, parks, and in tough coastal conditions of hot sun and sandy fast-draining soils, has more than 100 named cultivars selected for various characteristics, such as yellow foliage (e.g. cvs. 'Aurea', 'Tremonia'), permanently juvenile foliage (e.g. cv. 'Shoosmith'), columnar crown shape (cv. 'Columnaris'), abundant cones, spiral branch pattern (e.g. cv. 'Kaizuka'), etc. First popular in the United States in the Los Angeles gardens in Mediterranean style homes, and now commonly found along both the West and East Coast in beach and coastal areas.
The Chinese juniper is widely used in bonsai, both as individual plants, such as the 250-year-old "Omiya tree" in the Birmingham Botanical Gardens in the UK, and in groups, such as the well-known Goshin on display at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the US National Arboretum. The cultivar 'Shimpaku' is a very important bonsai subject.
California Juniper · Canary Islands Juniper · Common Juniper · Alligator Juniper · One-seed Juniper · Western Juniper · African Juniper · Creeping Juniper · Drooping Juniper · Temple Juniper · Rocky Mountain Juniper · Flaky Juniper
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Juniperus chinensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
