States sporadically from Washington east to North Dakota, south to Arizona and also locally western Texas, and northernmost Mexico from Sonora east to Coahuila. It grows at altitudes of on dry soils, often together with other juniper species. It requires about of annual precipitation. Ecology The Bohemian waxwing eats the berries. According to one study, a single bird consumed 900 in five hours. Uses Some Plateau Indian tribes boiled an infusion from the leaves and inner bark to treat coughs and fevers. The cones were also sometimes boiled into a drink used as a laxative and to treat colds. Among many Native American cultures, the smoke of the burning juniper is used to drive away evil spirits prior to conducting a ceremony, such as a healing ceremony. A small quantity of ripe berries can be eaten as an emergency food or as a sage-like seasoning for meat. The dried berries can be roasted and ground into a coffee substitute. The tree is sometimes planted as a windbreak and horticulturally in rocky, poorly irrigated soils. The cultivar 'Skyrocket' is a very popular ornamental plant in gardens, grown for its very slender, strictly erect growth habit. Due to its disposition for a fungal disease, namely cedar apple rust, caused by Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae, 'Skyrocket' is more and more replaced by the new cultivar J. virginiana 'Blue Arrow'. 'Blue Arrow' is a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Several other cultivars are also grown to a lesser extent. It is also a popular collected tree for bonsai in the U.S. See also Ecology of the Rocky Mountains Jardine Juniper Pinyon-juniper woodland References scopulorum Flora of the Rocky Mountains Trees of the Great Basin Trees of the Western United States Trees of the Northwestern United States Trees of the Southwestern United States Trees of Alberta Trees of British Columbia Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Least concern plants Flora of North America Dioecious plants