Juniperus virginiana

Juniperus virginiana, also known as eastern redcedar,^[2]^[3] red cedar, Virginian juniper,^[4] eastern juniper, red juniper, and other local names, is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Great Plains.^[3] Further west it is replaced by the related Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain juniper) and to the southwest by Juniperus ashei (Ashe juniper).^[5]^[6]^[7] It is not to be confused with Thuja occidentalis (eastern white cedar).

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana is called eastern juniper / redcedar. It is found in eastern North America, from , west to southern Ontario and South Dakota, south to northernmost Florida and southwest into the post oak savannah of east-central Texas. Cones are larger, 4–7 mm (3⁄16–1⁄4 in); scale leaves are acute at apex and bark is red-brown.

Maine

Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola (Small) E.Murray ( Sabina silicicola Small, Juniperus silicicola (Small) L.H.Bailey) is known as southern or sand juniper / redcedar. Its variety name means "flint-dweller", from Latin silex and -cola. Habitat is along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from the extreme southeastern corner of Virginia,^[10] south to central Florida and west to southeast Texas. Cones are smaller, 3–4 mm (1⁄8–3⁄16 in); scale leaves are blunt at apex and the bark is orange-brown. It is treated by some authors at the lower rank of variety, while others treat it as a distinct species.

syn.

Juniperus virginiana is a dense slow-growing coniferous evergreen tree with a conical or subcylindrical shaped crown^[8] that may never become more than a bush on poor soil, but is ordinarily from 5–20 metres (16–66 feet) tall, with a short trunk 30–100 centimetres (12–39 inches) in diameter, rarely to 27 m (89 ft) in height and 170 cm (67 in) in diameter. The oldest tree reported, from West Virginia, was 940 years old.^[9] The bark is reddish-brown, fibrous, and peels off in narrow strips. The leaves are of two types; sharp, spreading needle-like juvenile leaves 5–10 millimetres (3⁄16–3⁄8 in) long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves 2–4 mm (1⁄16–3⁄16 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 (1⁄8–1⁄4 in) long, berry-like, dark purple-blue with a white wax cover giving an overall sky-blue color (though the wax often rubs off); they contain one to three (rarely up to four) seeds, and are mature in 6–8 months from pollination. The juniper berry is an important winter food for many birds, which disperse the wingless seeds. The pollen cones are 2–3 mm (1⁄16–1⁄8 in) long and 1.5 mm (1⁄16 in) broad, shedding pollen in late winter or early spring. The trees are usually dioecious, with pollen and seed cones on separate trees,^[5]^[6]^[7] yet some are monoecious.

There are two varieties,^[2] which intergrade where they meet:^[5]^[6]^[7]

Pollen[edit]

The pollen of Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana is a known allergen. The nominate variety is native to Eastern North America, north of Mexico, with the pollen releasing at various points in the spring, variable by latitude and elevation.^[23]

Cedar wood

Eastern white cedar

Lawson, Edwin R. (1990). . In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Conifers. Silvics of North America. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – via Southern Research Station.

"Juniperus virginiana"

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