Juniperus monosperma

[3][4] The New Mexico juniper is an evergreen coniferous shrub or small tree growing to 2–7 metres (6+1⁄2–23 feet) (rarely to 12 m) tall, usually multistemmed, and with a dense, rounded crown.

The bark is gray-brown, exfoliating in thin longitudinal strips, exposing bright orange brown underneath.

The cones are berry-like, with soft resinous flesh, subglobose to ovoid, 5–7 mm long, dark blue with a pale blue-white waxy bloom, and contain a single seed (rarely two or three); they mature in about 6–8 months from pollination, and are eaten by birds and mammals.

[4] It is very rare or even extinct in Mexico, with only a single herbarium collection from 1880 verified;[3] more recent searches have failed to find the species there.

[7] Among the Zuni people, a poultice of the chewed root was applied to increase the strength of newborns and infants.