Ashe juniper grows up to 10 metres (33 feet) tall, and over time can reach 15 m (49 ft), and provides erosion control and year-round shade for wildlife and livestock.

The seed cones are round, 3 to 5 mm (1⁄8 to 3⁄16 in) long, and soft, pulpy and berry-like, green at first, maturing purple about 8 months after pollination.

Spanish explorers who arrived in what is now Texas in the mid-18th century built Hill Country missions using ashe junipers for roof beams.

Poor land management, due to decades of clearcutting and overgrazing, led to soil erosion and a preponderance of caliche.

Over 100 years ago, most old-growth Ashe junipers were cut and used not only for fence posts, but also for foundation piers, telegraph and telephone poles, roof framing, and railroad ties.