''Juniperus communis'', the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family

Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...

. An evergreen

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

Description

''Juniperus communis'' is very variable in form, ranging from —rarely —tall to a low, often

prostrate Prostrate may refer to:- *Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc. *Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body *Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...

spreading

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

in exposed locations. It has needle-like

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

in whorls of three; the leaves are green, with a single white

stoma In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bor ...

tal band on the inner surface. It never attains the scale-like adult foliage of other members of the genus. It is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, with male and female cones (both of which are

wind pollinated Anemophily or wind pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen is distributed by wind. Almost all gymnosperms are anemophilous, as are many plants in the order Poales, including grasses, sedges, and rushes. Other common anemophilous pla ...

) on separate plants. The male cones are yellow, long, and fall soon after shedding their

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

in March–April. The fruit are

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

-like cones known as juniper berries. They are initially green, ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue

waxy Waxy may refer to: * a substance related to wax * colloquially for a waxworm (particularly used by anglers) * Waxy (band), an American stoner rock band * Waxy (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * WAXY (AM), a radio station (790 AM) licensed to serv ...

coating; they are spherical, diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fleshy 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, unwinged seeds in their droppings.Rushforth, K. (1987). ''Conifers''. Helm .Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World: The genus Juniperus''. Victoria: Trafford. .Arboretum de Villardebelle
''Juniperus''
/ref>

Chemistry

The juniper berry oil is composed largely of monoterpene hydrocarbons such as α-pinene, myrcene, sabinene, limonene and β-pinene.

Subspecies

As to be expected from the wide range, ''J. communis'' is very variable, with several infraspecific taxa; delimitation between the taxa is still uncertain, with genetic data not matching morphological data well.Flora Europaea
''Juniperus communis''
/ref>Adams, R. P., Pandey, R. N., Leverenz, J. W., Dignard, N., Hoegh, K., & Thorfinnsson, T. (2003). Pan-Arctic variation in Juniperus communis: Historical Biogeography based on DNA fingerprinting. ''Biochem. Syst. Ecol''. 31: 181–19
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.Adams, R. P., & Pandey, R. N. (2003). Analysis of Juniperus communis and its varieties based on DNA fingerprinting. ''Biochem. Syst. Ecol''. 31: 1271-1278
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Adams, R. P., & Nguyen, S. (2007). Post-Pleistocene geographic variation in Juniperus communis in North America. ''Phytologia'' 89 (1): 43–57
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Den Virtuella Floran: ''Juniperus communis'' distribution
/ref> *subsp. ''communis'' – Common juniper. Usually an erect shrub or small tree; leaves long; cones small, 5–8 mm, usually shorter than the leaves; found at low to moderate altitude in temperate climates **subsp. ''communis'' var. ''communis'' – Europe, most of northern Asia **subsp. ''communis'' var. ''depressa'' – North America,

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

in California **subsp. ''communis'' var. ''hemisphaerica'' – Mediterranean mountains **subsp. ''communis'' var. ''nipponica'' – Japan (status uncertain, often treated as ''J. rigida'' var. ''nipponica'') *subsp. ''alpina'' – alpine juniper (syn. ''J. c.'' subsp. ''nana'', ''J. c.'' var. ''saxatilis'' Pallas, ''J. sibirica'' Burgsd.). Usually a prostrate ground-hugging shrub; leaves short, 3–8 mm; cones often larger, 7–12 mm, usually longer than the leaves; found in subarctic areas and high altitude alpine zones in temperate areas **subsp. ''alpina'' var. ''alpina'' – Greenland, Europe and Asia **subsp. ''alpina'' var. ''megistocarpa'' – Eastern Canada (doubtfully distinct from var. ''alpina'') **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 ''J. communis'' var. ''saxatilis'' Pallas, though the name ''J. communis'' var. ''montana'' is also occasionally cited; others, primarily in eastern Europe and Russia, sometimes treat it as a distinct species ''J. sibirica'' Burgsd. (syn. ''J. nana'' Willd., ''J. alpina'' S.F.Gray).

Distribution and habitat

The species has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate

from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia. Relict populations can be found in the

Atlas Mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

of Africa. ''J. communis'' is one of Ireland's longest established plants.

Cultivation

''Juniperus communis'' is cultivated in the horticulture trade and used as an evergreen

ornamental Ornamental may refer to: *Ornamental grass, a type of grass grown as a decoration *Ornamental iron, mild steel that has been formed into decorative shapes, similar to wrought iron work *Ornamental plant, a plant that is grown for its ornamental qua ...

shrub in gardens. The following cultivars gained the Royal Horticultural Society's

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

in 1993: * ''Juniperus communis'' 'Compressa' * ''Juniperus communis'' 'Green Carpet' (prostrate shrub) * ''Juniperus communis'' 'Hibernica' (Irish juniper) * ''Juniperus communis'' 'Repanda' (prostrate shrub)

Uses

Crafts

It is too small to have any general lumber usage. In Scandinavia, however, juniper wood is used for making containers for storing small quantities of

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

products such as butter and

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

, and also for making wooden butter knives. It was also frequently used for trenails in wooden shipbuilding by shipwrights for its tough properties. In Estonia juniper wood is valued for its long lasting and pleasant aroma, very decorative natural structure of wood (growth rings) as well as good physical properties of wood due to slow growth rate of juniper and resulting dense and strong wood. Various decorative items (often eating utensils) are common in most Estonian handicraft shops and households. According to the old tradition, on Easter Monday

Kashubian Kashubian can refer to: * Pertaining to Kashubia, a region of north-central Poland * Kashubians, an ethnic group of north-central Poland * Kashubian language See also *Kashubian alphabet The Kashubian or Cassubian alphabet (''kaszëbsczi alf ...

(Northern Poland) boys chase girls whipping their legs gently with juniper twigs. This is to bring good fortune in love to the chased girls. Juniper wood, especially burl wood, is frequently used to make knife handles for French pocketknives such as the Laguiole.

Culinary

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

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

s, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. 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 A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

, including game birds, or tongue. The cones are used to flavour certain beers and

gin Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis''). Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...

(the word "gin" derives from an Old French word meaning "juniper"). In Finland, juniper is used as a key ingredient in making sahti, a traditional Finnish ale. Also the Slovak alcoholic beverage Borovička and Dutch

Jenever Jenever (, ), also known as Hollands, genever, genièvre, peket, or sometimes as Dutch gin (archaic: Holland gin or Geneva gin), is the juniper-flavored traditional liquor in the Netherlands, Belgium and adjoining areas in northern France an ...

are flavoured with juniper berry or its extract. Juniper is used in the traditional farmhouse ales of Norway, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. In Norway, the beer is brewed with juniper infusion instead of water, while in the other countries the juniper twigs are mainly used as filters to prevent the crushed malts from clogging the outlet of the

lauter Lauter may refer to: People * Lauter (surname) Places *Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany * Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany Rivers * Lauter (Baunach), tributary to th ...

tun. The use of juniper in farmhouse brewing has been common in much of northern Europe, seemingly for a very long time.

Traditional medicine

Juniper berries have long been used as medicine by many cultures including the

Navajo people The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

. Western American tribes combined the berries of ''J. communis'' with '' Berberis'' root bark in a herbal tea. Native Americans also used juniper berries as a female

contraceptive Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

Medicine

Juniper leaves were found to harbor fungi with potent anti-fungal compounds, including

ibrexafungerp Ibrexafungerp, sold under the brand name Brexafemme, is an antifungal medication used to treat vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) (vaginal yeast infection). It is taken orally (by mouth). It is also currently undergoing clinical trials for other ...

, which is now FDA approved to treat fungal infections.

References

External links

USDA: ''Juniperus communis'' Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Juniperus communis''''Juniperus communis'' - Photo Gallery

''Juniperus communis''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) {{Authority control

communis ''Communis'' may refer to: Anatomy * Anulus tendineus communis or annulus of Zinn, a ring of fibrous tissue surrounding the optic nerve * Carotis communis, the common carotid artery * Extensor digitorum communis, a muscle of the posterior forearm ...

Alpine flora Flora of North America Flora of Europe Flora of temperate Asia Flora of North Africa Dioecious plants Least concern plants Edible plants Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Garden plants of Asia Garden plants of Europe Garden plants of North America Flora of Greenland