Eastern Red-cedar

Appearance

Juniperus virginiana is 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 or 16–66 ft (rarely to 27 m or 89 ft) tall, with a short trunk 30–100 cm or 12–39 in (rarely 170 cm or 67 in) diameter.

The oldest tree reported, from Missouri, was 795 years old.

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 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 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, 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 (0.079–0.118 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.

Naming

The Lakota Native American name is Chansha, "redwood" or Hante'. In its native range it is commonly called "cedar" or "red cedar," names rejected by the American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature [7] as it is a juniper, not a true cedar. However, "Red Cedar" is the most used common name.