Abstract
The genus Juniperus Linnaeus (1753: 1038) (Cupressaceae Gray, nom. cons.) is a major component of arid and semi-arid tree/shrub ecosystems throughout the Northern Hemisphere (Thorne 1972, Adams 2004, 2008, 2014, Farjon 2005). The genus is monophyletic (Adams 2004, 2008, 2014, Little 2006, Mao et al. 2010), and three monophyletic sections are currently recognized: J. sect. Caryocedrus Endlicher (1847: 2), with one species in the Mediterranean; J. sect. Juniperus, with nine species in East Asia and the Mediterranean plus the circumboreal J. communis Linnaeus (1753: 1040); and J. sect. Sabina Spach (1841: 291), with 56 species distributed in southwestern North America, Asia and the Mediterranean region, with outliers in Africa and the Canary Islands.