JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS

'''Juniperus communis''', the 'Common Juniper', is a species in the genus ''Juniperus'', in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.
It is a shrub or small tree, very variable and often a low spreading shrub, but occasionally reaching 10 m tall. Common Juniper has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating; they are spherical, 4–12 mm diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fused scales, each scale with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The male cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in March–April.
As to be expected from the wide range, it is very variable, with several infraspecific taxa:

★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''communis'' – 'Common Juniper'. Usually an erect shrub or small tree, with leaves 8-20 mm long; found at low to moderate altitude in temperate climates.

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★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''communis'' var. ''communis'' – Europe, most of northern Asia

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★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''communis'' var. ''depressa'' – North America

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★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''communis'' var. ''nipponica'' – Japan (status uncertain, often treated as ''J. rigida'' var. ''nipponica'')

★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''alpina'' – 'Alpine Juniper' (syn. ''J. c.'' subsp. ''nana'', ''J. c.'' var. ''saxatilis''). Usually a prostrate ground-hugging shrub, with leaves 3–8 mm long; found in subarctic areas and high altitude alpine zones in temperate areas.

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★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''alpina'' var. ''alpina'' – Greenland, Europe and Asia

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★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''alpina'' var. ''megistocarpa'' – Eastern Canada (doubtfully distinct from var. ''alpina'')

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★ ''Juniperus communis'' subsp. ''alpina'' var. ''jackii'' – Western North America (doubtfully distinct from var. ''alpina'')
Some botanists treat subsp. ''alpina'' at the lower rank of variety, in which case the correct name is ''Juniperus communis'' var. ''saxatilis'', though the name ''Juniperus communis'' var. ''montana'' is also seen.

Contents

Uses

Critical Habitat

Further notes

References and external links

Uses

It is commonly used in horticulture as an ornamental shrub, but is too small to have any general wood usage. In Scandinavia, however, juniper wood is used for making containers for storing small quantities of dairy products such as butter and cheese, and also for making wooden butter knives.
In Texas, and the southwest, juniper is locally know as cedar and is use extensively for fence posts because it resists rot. Many barbed wire fences have stood on "cedar" posts for generations. Longer poles are used in rail fences, foot bridges, arches for ranch driveways, and other outdoor rustic construction. Its bark can be stripped and worked in the hands to be used when lighting a fire.
Its astringent blue-black seed cones, commonly known as "juniper berries", are too bitter to eat raw and are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. The cones are used to flavour gin. In fact, the word 'gin' is derived from the French word for juniper berry, ''genièvre'', which is the name for gin in France. The Slovak national alcoholic beverage Borovička is also flavoured with juniper berry extract.
Since juniper berries have a strong taste, they should be used sparingly.
They are generally used to enhance meat with a strong flavour, such as game, including game birds, or tongue. In Finland, juniper is used as a key ingredient in making sahti, a traditional Finnish ale.
Dioscorides' De materia medica also lists juniper berries, when crushed and put on the penis or vagina before intercourse, as a contraceptive. ^[1]

Critical Habitat

The Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia) listed Endangered 5/04/1990, nest only in central Texas mixed juniper and oak woodlands in ravines and canyons. Warblers eat insects and spiders found on the leaves and bark of oaks and other trees. They use long strips of cedar bark and spider webs to build their nests.^[2]
Because many tall juniper and oak woodlands have been cleared for crops or grass for livestock, to build houses, roads, and other development the warbler's habitat has shrunk. Other habitat areas were flooded when large highland lakes were built. Not all juniper stands are suitable, only mature trees provide the proper balance of security and food source for the birds.

Further notes

''Juniperus communis'' is one of Ireland's longest established plants.^[3]

References and external links

★ Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern

★ Flora Europaea: ''Juniperus communis''

★ Den Virtuella Floran: ''Juniperus communis'' distribution

★ Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus''. Victoria: Trafford. ISBN 1-4120-4250-X

★ Arboretum de Villardebelle photos of cones & shoots
1. Riddle, John M. 1992. Contraception and abortion from the ancient world to the Renaissance Harvard University Press, p. 31
2. Texas Parks and Wildlife, Endangered and Threatened Species found in Texas, April 11, 2007, TPWD, 4200 Smith School Road, Austin, TX 78744

3. 'Preston, S.J., Wilson,C., Jennings, S., Provan, J. and McDonald, R.A.' 2007. The status of ''Juniperus communis'' L. in Northern Ireland in 2005. ''Ir. Nat. J.'' '28': 372 - 378