Alternate name: Pasture Juniper
Family: Cupressaceae, Cypress view all from this family
Description Usually a spreading low shrub, sometimes forming broad or prostrate clumps; rarely a small tree with an open irregular crown.
Height: 1-4' (0.3-1.2 m), rarely 15-25' (4.6-7.6 m).
Trunk diameter: to 8" (20 cm).
Leaves: evergreen; 3/8-1/2" (10-12 mm) long. Awl-shaped; stiff, very sharp-pointed, jointed at base; in 3's, spreading at right angles. Whitish and grooved above, shiny yellow-green beneath.
Bark: reddish-brown to gray; thin, rough, scaly, and shreddy.
Twigs: light yellow; slender, 3-angled, hairless.
Cones: 1/4-3/8" (6-10 mm) in diameter; berrylike; whitish blue with a bloom; hard; mealy; sweetish and resinous; aromatic; maturing in 2-3 years and remaining attached; 1-3 brown, pointed seeds. Pollen cones mostly on same plant.
Warning Berries poisonous if eaten in large quantities. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.
Habitat Rocky slopes in coniferous forests of mountains and plains.
Range Widespread from Alaska east to Labrador and S. Greenland, south to New York, and west to Minnesota and Wyoming; also south in mountains to NW. South Carolina and central Arizona; also Iceland and across N. Eurasia; to 8000-11,5000' (2438-3505 m) in south.
Discussion Although commonly a tree in Eurasia, Common Juniper is only rarely a small tree in New England and other northeastern States. In the West, it is a low shrub, often at timberline. Including geographic varieties, this species is the most widely distributed native conifer in both North America and the world. Juniper "berries" are food for wildlife, especially grouse, pheasants, and bobwhites. They are an ingredient in gin, producing the distinctive aroma and tang.
