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Scientific name: Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus 1753
Synonyms: Juniperus alba Knight ex Carrière, Juniperus arborescens Moench, Juniperus argentea Gordon, Juniperus bedfordiana Loudon, Juniperus cannartii K.Koch, Juniperus caroliana Mill., Juniperus caroliniana Du Roi, Juniperus chamberlaynii Carrière, Juniperus cinerascens K.Koch, Juniperus dioica Carrière, Juniperus fragrans Knight, Juniperus glauca Cels ex Link, Juniperus gossainthanea Lodd. ex Lindl. & Gordon, Juniperus gossainthanea C.Lawson, Juniperus hermannii (Pers.) Spreng., Juniperus nutans Beissn., Juniperus polymorpha Beissn., Juniperus schottii Gordon, Juniperus smithipendula Beissn., Juniperus tripartita (Lavallée) Beissn., Sabina alba (Knight ex Carrière) Antoine, Sabina fragrans (Knight) Antoine, Sabina glauca Antoine, Sabina gossainthanea (Lodd. ex Lindl. & Gordon) Antoine, Sabina virginiana (L.) Antoine
Common names: Eastern redcedar, Eastern juniper, Red juniper
Description
Tree to 30 m tall, with single trunk to 1.7 m in diameter, fluted with age. Bark bright reddish brown, only slowly weathering grayish brown, thin, fibrous, furrowed, peeling in long, narrow, vertical strips. Crown dense, conical, usually narrow at first and broadening with age, with rising, spreading, or hanging branches. Branchlets stiff or drooping, cylindrical or slightly four-angled, 0.7-1.3 mm thick. Needlelike juvenile leaves commonly present on adult trees. Adult leaves in opposite pairs, scalelike, 1-3 mm long, dark green, with an inactive, oblong resin gland, the edges smooth, the tip blunt or triangular, curved away from the twig. Pollen and seed cones on separate plants. Pollen cones single at the tips of branchlets, egg-shaped, 3-5 mm long, with five to eight alternating pairs of pollen scales. Seed cones single at the tips of straight (or curved) branchlets, spherical, 3-6(-10) mm long, blue black with a prominent bluish white waxy coating, maturing in year. Seeds one or two (or three), 1.5-4 mm long, light brown, the paler attachment scar extending up to halfway along the side.
Eastern North America from southwestern North Dakota and southeastern Texas through southernmost Canada (southern Ontario and southwestern Quebec) to southwestern Maine and Florida. Usually in relatively open habitats on dry to wet soils; 0-100(-1,400) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
This widespread species is increasing in abundance in many areas. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern. Locally abundant and expanding due to fire control and abandonment of farm land. This species occurs in a wide range of habitats, from old, eroded sandstone or limestone plateaux covered in open pine or pine-oak woodland, or stream banks of clay or sand in the Midwest, to abandoned fields and road verges and stabilized sand dunes on the Atlantic coast. No specific threats have been identified for this species. This species is used as an amenity tree in landscaping and as an ornamental. The wood is also exploited on a small scale for special purposes such as wood turning. In the past it was exploited extensively for the manufacture of pencils, but more recently that use has declined. From the leaves essential oils are extracted. Juniperus virginiana has been the source of numerous cultivars, many of which are still in the horticultural trade. It is similar in general appearance to Juniperus chinensis and if they do not bear cones, e.g. because of the retaining of juvenile leaf types, and if the distinct leaf arrangement holds true in cultivars, juvenile leaves on lateral branchlets beyond the seedling stage of Juniperus virginiana should be in pairs, not in threes. Scale leaves of Juniperus virginiana are acute, of Juniperus chinensis usually obtuse. This species is increasing and spreading into abandoned farmland, road verges and other open wasteland.
References
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