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Juniper is a fairly common and at the same time unique plant. It harmoniously combines beauty and usefulness, therefore it is used for both decorative and medical purposes. Meanwhile, many do not even know what juniper looks like and where it grows.
Origin of juniper
Juniper has quite a few synonyms. In many sources, it is referred to as heather (not to be confused with heather – a flowering plant), in the literature there is another name for it – juniper. In the common people, juniper is often called walrus or bouzhzhevnik. The plant has been known since ancient times for its medicinal properties. Mentions of him are found in the myths of Ancient Greece and the writings of the ancient Roman poet Virgil, as well as in Slavic mythology.
Below in the photo is a tree and juniper leaves.
Its distribution area is quite wide. It is found in almost the entire Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic to North Africa. It also grows in North America, in the United States and Canada. It has more than 70 species, both wild and ornamental.
juniper appearance
Juniper, the photo and description of which are presented below, belongs to the genus Cypress. It is a shrub, which, depending on the type and place of growth, can have various shapes and sizes. In the southern regions, it is most often found in a tree-like form, in the north – as a low bush. There are many ornamental species of this shrub, the appearance of which is formed and regulated by pruning or cutting.
Tree description
Common juniper is described as a low evergreen coniferous shrub with a height of 1 to 3 m. It is characterized by slow growth and a long lifespan – up to 500 years. The crown is usually rounded, rarely conical. The lower branches are often drooping.
juniper coloring
Young shoots are brown with a reddish tint, the bark of an adult tree is gray, dark, sometimes with a brown tint. The color of juniper depends on the place of growth and weather conditions, as well as on the season. It is associated with the release of a wax-like substance by the leaves, which scatters light in a certain way. Depending on its presence, the needles may have a bluish, yellowish, whitish hue.
In addition to chlorophyll and wax, the leaves of this plant synthesize anthocyanins – substances that protect against ultraviolet radiation. Their number increases in autumn and during the period of drought, and since their color is red-violet, in combination with green they give a characteristic bronze tint, which many species of this plant acquire in the pre-winter period.
What do juniper berries look like?
This shrub can be either monoecious or dioecious. Male cones are small, deep-seated, yellowish. Cones of the female type (cone berries) are more numerous, they are ovoid or spherical, about 1 cm in size. At first they are light green in color, later they become blue-black with a bluish tint, there is a bluish wax coating on the surface.
The cones ripen in the second year. Each of them contains from 1 to 10 seeds. They are small, trihedral, easily carried by the wind. Juniper cones are not full-fledged berries, they are fused cones, therefore this plant does not belong to angiosperms, but to gymnosperms.
Description of juniper leaves
Veres leaves, depending on the species and age, are needle-shaped or scaly. In common juniper, they are trihedral needles. They are hard, prickly, 1-1,5 cm long and about 1 mm wide. Remain on shoots up to 4 years. The green tissues of the leaf are covered with a layer of wax coating, which can give the needles various shades of color: light green, bluish or golden. Species with scaly needles grow mainly in the southern regions.
What are juniper leaves called?
Depending on the species and age, the leaves of this plant are called needles or scales. But these are precisely the leaves that have an elongated-lanceolate shape. In the common people I call them needles, by analogy with ordinary coniferous trees, such as spruce or pine.
How juniper grows
In nature, this evergreen shrub reproduces only by seeds. They have a rather low germination rate, and even at home they do not always sprout. Often, sprouts can appear only a few years after the seed hits the soil. In the early years, the bush grows quite actively, then its growth rate slows down. Most species of this plant add only 1 to 10 cm per year.
Juniper is a tree or shrub
Juniper, especially many ornamental varieties, often looks like a small tree, although it is a coniferous evergreen shrub, since its appearance is highly dependent on growing conditions. In the Mediterranean there are large tree-like specimens growing up to 15 m in height.
In the northern latitudes, this plant grows in the form of a low or creeping undersized bush with creeping shoots.
Juniper coniferous or deciduous tree
To the question whether juniper is a coniferous or flowering plant, there is a definite answer. Like all plants of the genus Cypress, this shrub belongs to coniferous species.
How much juniper grows
In the mythology of many nations, this shrub is a symbol of immortality. This is due to its long lifespan. Under normal conditions, the age of plants can reach up to 500-600 years, and some sources mention thousand-year-old juniper trees.
Where does juniper grow in Our Country
This shrub grows in almost the entire forest-steppe territory of Our Country, with the exception of the polar regions and high mountains. It can be found in the lower tier of light deciduous and pine forests of the European part, the foothills of the Urals and the Caucasus, in Siberia to the Lena River basin. In some regions, the winter hardiness zone of juniper even goes beyond the Arctic Circle. It grows well in almost all types of soil, with the exception of wetlands, because it does not tolerate excessive moisture. Prefers light areas, so clearings, clearings, forest edges or roadsides often become the habitat of juniper.
How and when juniper blooms
Blossoms, or as they say, heather in April-May, and in the Siberian region – in June. Flowers are small spikelets. Cones of the female type are green, sit in groups, male spikelets are yellow, elongated.
The flowering of juniper passes, as a rule, imperceptibly.
What does juniper smell like?
The smell of this shrub is highly dependent on its species. In most varieties, it is memorable, coniferous, bright, but at the same time thin. Wood also retains this property, so juniper wood products retain this warm and pleasant smell for a long time. You can smell this plant by smelling natural gin, which is juniper vodka. Some species, such as Cossack and Stinky, have a sharper and more unpleasant aroma that can be felt when rubbing the needles.
Juniper poisonous or not
Among the many species of this evergreen shrub, only one is non-poisonous – common juniper. All other species are toxic to one degree or another. The most poisonous of all is the Cossack juniper. You can distinguish it by the strong unpleasant odor that its needles emit. Other species are less poisonous. Both berries and shoots have toxic properties, since they contain poisonous essential oil.
Nevertheless, if you follow elementary precautions and do not try to taste all parts of the plant, then you can grow wild or cultivated juniper in your backyard without any fear.
Interesting Juniper Facts
The healing properties and longevity have given rise to many rumors and legends about this plant. However, juniper can really be called unique without exaggeration. Here are some interesting facts about this evergreen shrub:
- According to archaeological excavations, juniper appeared about 50 million years ago.
- The oldest known juniper was found in the Crimea. Its age, according to some sources, is about 2000 years.
- The leaves of this plant emit a large amount of air-disinfecting substances – phytoncides. For a day, 1 ha of juniper forest synthesizes about 30 kg of these volatile compounds. This amount is enough to kill all pathogenic bacteria in the air of a large metropolis, such as Moscow.
- If you steam wooden tubs for pickling vegetables or mushrooms with a juniper broom, then mold will not start in them.
- In barrels made of juniper bark, milk never turns sour. Even in the heat.
- Moths never start in juniper wood cabinets. Therefore, branches of this shrub are often stored in boxes with clothes.
- Berries (cones) of common juniper are used both in medicine and in gastronomy, as a seasoning for meat and fish.
- Veres wood retains its specific coniferous smell for a very long time. Therefore, for example, in the Crimea, crafts for tourists are often made from it.
- The use of the berries of this plant is strictly contraindicated for pregnant women, as this can provoke a miscarriage.
- An interesting feature is the cuttings of this plant, which can be used to propagate the species. If you cut them from the top of the bush, then the seedling will tend to grow up. If you use cuttings from the side branches, then the young plant will grow in breadth.
- The roots of this plant have a good holding capacity, so bushes are often planted to fix the soil on slopes and embankments.
- Juniper virginiana is often referred to as the “pencil tree” because its wood is used to make pencils.
- The thickets of this shrub are one of the signs of the close occurrence of the coal seam. Thanks to this property, the Moscow region coal basin was opened.
Juniper has always been a symbol of life and longevity. In the old days, a branch of this plant was often kept behind an icon. It is believed that to see this evergreen shrub in a dream is to wealth and good luck.
Conclusion
In specialized literature, you can find detailed information about what juniper looks like, where it grows and how it is used. This article lists only the main properties of this prickly relative of cypress. This plant is indeed in many ways unique in its properties, and a close acquaintance with it will undoubtedly benefit anyone.
