The pitfalls of using a 42-year-old field guide to the trees may be few, but occasionally one does stumble into them. When I started looking for redberry juniper photos, I quickly realized that there are two trees commonly called by this name: Juniperus pinchotii and Juniperus coahuilensis. So I went back to the guide, looked up the Latin name of the redberry in question and discovered it is–neither one. In the field guide, it is J. erythrocarpa, which seems not to exist anymore. Process of elimination made it clear that it has been renamed J. coahuilensis (which seems to have previously been the name of one variety of erythrocarpa), since tomorrow’s tree, Pinchot juniper, is, yes, J. pinchotii.

I wonder why the name changed, but I don’t wonder enough to do any research. I just enjoyed drawing some of its leaves, complete with two of the said berries.

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