Family: Cupressaceae, Cypress view all from this family

Description Slow growing prostrate evergreen shrub. Branches long, trailing or creeping. Shoots slender, 0.7-1.2 mm diameter. Leaves in opposite decussate pairs, or whorls of three; adult leaves scale-like, 1-2 mm long (to 8 mm on lead shoots) and 1-1.5 mm broad. Juvenile leaves on young seedlings, needle-like, 5-10 mm long. Cones berry-like, globose to bilobed, 5-7 mm in diameter, dark blue with pale blue-white waxy bloom, contain two seeds (rarely one or three); curved stem, mature in about 18 months. Male cones 2-4 mm long, and shed pollen in early spring. Dioecious; producing cones of only one sex on each plant.

Dimensions Height: 15-45 cm. (6-18" in.)
Diameter: 6 m. (20 ft.).

Habitat Scrub, shrub & brushlands, Beaches & shorelines, Grasslands & prairies, Canyons & valleys, Watersides (fresh).

Range Plains, Mid-Atlantic, Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, New England, Alaska.

Discussion Used as ground cover in gardens and public spaces. Slow growing with berries attractive to birds and other wildlife.