This columnar conifer stands sentinel over the Mediterranean Beds.
Juniperus drupacea is one of 60 species of evergreen coniferous trees from hillsides of the northern hemisphere. Members of the genus tend to have juvenile needle-like or wedge-shaped foliage, and scale-like, overlapping generally flat adult leaves. Usually male and female cones are carried on separate trees, with the male cones being spherical to 5mm in diameter, and the females being fleshy berry-like fruits. J. drupacea, or the Syrian juniper, is a native of Greece, Turkey and Syria, where it grows in rocky slopes in forest and scrub between 1000m and 1500m. The male fruits here are the eye-catching feature at present, and are initially green with a grey bloom, maturing to a deep blue and then ageing to brown.