Juniperus oxycedrusL. Prickly juniper

Juniperus oxycedrusL. - Prickly juniper

Scientific Description:

Dioecious shrub or tree. Leaves lanceolate, lax, 6−25 × 1.5–2.5 mm, acuminate-mucronate, green, with 2 distinct stomatal bands on the upper surface. Ripe cones ± globose, up to 20 mm in diameter, dark red or purple to bright brown, rugose.

 

subsp. oxycedrus

Cones 6-8 mm; leaves up to 1.5 mm wide

 

Reference:

Coode MJE & Cullen J (1965). Juniperus oxycedrus L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1: 80.

Public Description:

Juniperus oxycedrus, known as “prickly juniper”, is native across the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal, north to southern France, Türkiye, Iran, and Lebanon and Israel. The Prickly juniper tree is very variable in shape, forming a spreading shrub 2–3 m tall to a small erect tree 10–15 m tall. It has needle-like green leaves. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. Cade oil is an essential oil obtained through destructive distillation of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in cosmetic products and in the treatment of traditional skin diseases or as an incense.

 

References:

Anonymous (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_oxycedrus /, Accessed date: 07.02.2016.

Alpınar K (2012). Juniperus L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 12–14.