Juniperus communis Conservation status: Secure
Juniperus communis subsp. communis in The Netherlands
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Cupressaceae Genus: Juniperus Species: J. communis
Binomial name
Juniperus communis L.

Juniperus communis, the Common Juniper, is a shrub or small tree, very variable and often a low spreading shrub, but occasionally reaching 10 m tall. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia. Download high resolution version (707x956, 203 KB)Common Juniper copied across from nl:wiki Source: nl:Afbeelding:Jeneverbes. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Families Pinaceae, pine family Araucariaceae, araucaria family Podocarpaceae, yellow-wood family Phyllocladaceae Sciadopityaceae, umbrella-pine family Cupressaceae, cypress family Cephalotaxaceae, plum-yew family Taxaceae, yew family The Order Pinales in the Division Pinophyta, Class Pinopsida comprises all the extant conifers. ... Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... Species 50-55 species; see text. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné  listen, and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... A willow shrub A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... A woody plant is any vascular plant that has a perennial woody stem -- that is, one that supports continued vegetative growth above ground from year to year. ... In geography, temperate latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. ... The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and fourth in population after Asia and Africa in area and population and Europe in population. ... A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... World map showing location of Asia Asia is the central and eastern part of the continent of Eurasia, defined by subtracting the European peninsula from Eurasia. ...

Common Juniper - foliage and cones

Common Juniper has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating; they are spherical, 4-12 mm diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fused scales, each scale with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The male cones are yellow, 2-3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in March-April. Download high resolution version (1034x644, 214 KB)Common Juniper copied across from Estonian Wiki et:Pilt:Kadakas. ... Download high resolution version (1034x644, 214 KB)Common Juniper copied across from Estonian Wiki et:Pilt:Kadakas. ... Plant sexuality deals with the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. ... A cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta (conifers) that contains the reproductive structures. ... Several types of berries from the market, but none of these are true berries. ... A SeeD is a term given to mercenaries trained and employed by Balamb Garden in the Final Fantasy VIII video game. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea),hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose(Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ...

As to be expected from the wide range, it is very variable, with several infraspecific taxa:

• Juniperus communis subsp. communis - Common Juniper. Usually an erect shrub or small tree, with leaves 8-20 mm long; found at low to moderate altitude in temperate climates.
  • Juniperus communis subsp. communis var. communis - Europe, most of northern Asia
  • Juniperus communis subsp. communis var. depressa - North America
  • Juniperus communis subsp. communis var. nipponica - Japan (status uncertain, often treated as J. rigida var. nipponica)
• Juniperus communis subsp. alpina - Alpine Juniper. Usually a prostrate ground-hugging shrub, with leaves 3-8 mm long; found in subarctic areas and high altitude alpine zones in temperate areas.
  • Juniperus communis subsp. alpina var. alpina - Greenland, Europe & Asia
  • Juniperus communis subsp. alpina var. megistocarpa - Eastern Canada (doubtfully distinct from var. alpina)
  • Juniperus communis subsp. alpina var. jackii - Western North America

Some botanists treat subsp. alpina at the lower rank of variety, in which case the correct name is Juniperus communis var. saxatilis, though the name Juniperus communis var. montana is also seen.

Uses

It is commonly used in horticulture as an ornamental shrub, but is too small to have any general wood usage. In Scandinavia, however, juniper wood is used for making containers for storing small quantities of dairy products such as butter and cheese, and also for making wooden butter knives. Its astringent blue-black seed cones, commonly known as juniper berries, are too bitter to eat raw and are usually sold dried and used to flavor meats, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. The cones are used to flavour gin. In fact, the name is derived from the French word for juniper berry, genièvre, which is the name for gin in France. Since juniper berries have a strong taste, they should be used sparingly. They are generally used to enhance meat with a strong flavour, such as game, including game birds, or tongue. The Latin words hortus (garden plant) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture, classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ... A news/talk radio station on the frequency of 1300 AM in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ... Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... Dairy farm near Oxford, New York, July 2001 In many northern-hemisphere countries a dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk (mostly from cows, sometimes from buffaloes, sheep or goats) for human consumption. ... Balls of butter on a plate Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh cream. ... Cheese is a solid food made from the curdled milk of various animals—most commonly cows but sometimes goats, sheep, reindeer, and water buffalo. ... An astringent is a chemical substance that tends to shrink or constrict body tissues, usually locally after topical medicinal application. ... Meat is animal tissue (mainly muscle) used as food. ... For the computer protocol, see SAUCE In cooking, a sauce is a liquid served on or used in the preparation of food. ... In cooking, stuffing, also known as dressing, is usually a mixture of various ingredients used to fill a cavity in another food item. ... Gin is a spirit, or strong alcoholic beverage. ... A game is a recreational activity involving one or more players. ... Many animals have longer and more flexible tongues than humans. ...

Common Juniper is the exclusive food plant of the larvae of the Juniper Carpet moth and is also eaten by other Lepidoptera species such as Juniper Pug. A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... Binomial name Thera juniperata Linnaeus, 1758 The Juniper Carpet (Thera juniperata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. ... Lepidopteran on a flower. ... Families About 130 - see text The Lepidoptera is the second largest order of insects comprising butterflies, skippers, and moths. ... Binomial name Eupithecia pusillata Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 The Juniper Pug (Eupithecia pusillata) is a moth of the family Geometridae. ...

External link

• Arboretum de Villardebelle photos of cones & shoots