Juniper, Red

Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Juniper, Red Juniper, Pencil Cedar) is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Great Plains. Further west it is replaced by the related Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain Juniper) and to the southwest by Juniperus ashei (Ashe Juniper). a dense slow-growing coniferous evergreen tree that may never become more than a bush on poor soil, but is ordinarily from 5–20 m/16–66 ft (rarely to 27 m/89 ft) tall, with a short trunk 30–100 cm/12–39 in (rarely 170 cm/67 in) diameter. The oldest tree reported, from Missouri, was 795 years old. (Note: Often call Red Cedar erroneous. This is a Juniper and not a true cedar.)

The LEAVES are of two types; sharp, spreading needle-like juvenile leaves 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves 2–4 mm (0.079–0.16 in) long; they are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or occasionally whorls of three. The juvenile leaves are found on young plants up to 3 years old, and as scattered shoots on adult trees, usually in shade.

The SEED CONES are 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long, berry-like with fleshy scales, dark purple-blue with a white wax cover giving an overall sky-blue color (though the wax often rubs off); they contain one or two (rarely up to four) SEEDS, and are mature in 6–8 months from pollination. They are an important winter food for many birds, which disperse the wingless seeds. The POLLEN CONES are 2–3 mm (0.079–0.12 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.059 in) broad, shedding pollen in late winter or early spring. The trees are usually dioecious, with pollen and seed cones on separate trees.

The BARK is reddish-brown, fibrous, and peels off in narrow strips.

The WOOD is marketed as “eastern redcedar” or “aromatic cedar”. The best portions of the heartwood are one of the few woods good for making pencils.

WILDLIFE: Cedar waxwings are fond of the “berries” of these junipers. It takes about 12 minutes for their seeds to pass through the birds’ guts, and seeds that have been consumed by this bird have levels of germination roughly three times higher than those of seeds the birds did not eat. Many other birds (from bluebirds to turkeys) and many mammals also consume them.