Juniperus pseudosabina, the Turkestan juniper or dwarf black juniper is a species of juniper.
Juniperus pseudosabina is variable in shape, growing as a shrub or small tree, reaching tall. The leaves are of two forms, juvenile needle-like leaves long, and adult scale-leaves 1.3âÂÂ2 mm long on shoots 1.5âÂÂ2 mm thick. Juvenile leaves are found mainly on seedlings but mature plants continue to bear some juvenile leaves as well as adult, particularly on shoots damaged by browsing.
It is largely dioecious with separate male and female plants, but some individual plants produce both sexes. The cones are berry-like, 8âÂÂ14 mm long and 7âÂÂ10 mm diameter, blue-black with a whitish waxy bloom, and contain a single seed; they are mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2âÂÂ3 mm long, and shed their pollen in late winter.
The plant is native to the mountains of Central Asia in northern Pakistan, northeastern Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, eastern Kazakhstan, western China, western Mongolia, and south-central Russia.
It typically grows at altitudes of .
Although it has a wide distribution and is not currently threatened, increased grazing by domestic livestock in the region could threaten it in the future.