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A very twisty Sierra juniper

June 14, 2019 by Jonas Dupuich

I had a chance this week to visit some of my favorite Sierra junipers. The best known of these trees is pictured below.

Twisty Sierra juniper

A very twisty Sierra juniper

The tree is compact and twisty, revealing different characteristics when viewed from different angles. From the east, the trunk appears massive and relatively straight. A single, sinuous root on this side dives into a crack between the granite slabs that support the tree’s weight.

View from the east

View from the east side

The most interesting movement can be seen from the south side where a slender lifeline wraps around dramatic deadwood leading to a low branch sitting just above the rock.

View from the south

The view from the south

I was joined on this trip by two satsuki professionals visiting from Japan. Below, Yoichi Fukuda of Rakajyu-en provides scale for the tree.

Yoichi pondering a Sierra juniper

Yoichi pondering how a tree could grow like this

We spent close to an hour hanging around the tree, relaxing and taking turns inspecting the movement and deadwood that make the tree unique.

I’ll share more photos from this trip next week.

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Filed Under: Excursions Tagged With: Sierra juniper

Previous Post: « Spring maintenance on black pine – pulling needles and decandling
Next Post: Appreciating a massive, and ancient, Sierra juniper »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ken Schindler says

    June 14, 2019 at 4:31 am

    Only two that describes this tree, “Goose bumps”.
    Enough said

  2. Skye says

    June 14, 2019 at 10:28 pm

    BIN

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