JBCLM | 2010-2026

In sheltered locations where humidity is higher than in the juniper woodlands of the calcareous moorlands, particularly on rocky soils in shaded slopes—such as the bottoms of ravines in the Serranía de Cuenca and the Alto Tajo—Juniperus thurifera coexists with other trees of the genera Pinus and Quercus, forming mixed forest stands. A representative example of this community can be found in the Dehesas of Campillo-Sierra in the province of Cuenca.

For its representation in the Botanical Garden, the Spanish juniper is accompanied by other tree species such as black pine (Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii), Portuguese oak (Quercus faginea) and Montpellier maple (Acer monspessulanum). Shrubs characteristic of these cool, shaded high-mountain understories have also been incorporated, including common box (Buxus sempervirens), alpine buckthorn (Rhamnus alpina), snowy mespilus (Amelanchier ovalis), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Prunus prostratus, and Cotoneaster tomentosus.Species of smaller stature are also present, including subshrubs and herbs such as Leucanthemum pallens, Globularia vulgaris, Lotus corniculatus, Teucrium expassum, Anthyllis montana, Thymus bracteatus, Linum apressum and the silver wormwood (Artemisia assoana).