 Photo ©
Carl Farmer |
Here and there among rocks or heather, often on clifftops or in mountain boulder fields, but sometimes choosing a sheltered spot. Skye's only native conifer. Leaves c 5-20 mm long. Berry c 5-6 mm long. Skye ID: Leaves in whorls of 3 with a whitish stripe along the upper surface. Other features: Flowers in May-June, male and female on separate plants, female develop into berries, which remain green for a year or so then ripen to become blue-black. Two subspecies occur, nana and communis. Nana is a prostrate form, and is the commoner in Skye, growing in more exposed places. Communis is upright but bushy. Intermediates occur. Nana also has a pure white line along the leaf (greyish in communis), leaves almost blunt (spiny in communis) and leaves about 4-7 x as long as wide (8-16 in communis) |
