Juniper
Scalelike or awl-shaped leaves usually have a distinct resin gland on the surface. The round, berrylike seed cones are composed of fleshy, fused bracts (modified leaves) and scales. Male pollen cones and female seed cones usually grow on separate trees. Pollination occurs in spring; cones mature in the second or third year, turning blue. They have been used as flavouring (particularly in gin). The seeds are small, with 2 lateral wings, and the wood is hard, heavy, aromatic, purplish red and decay resistant. Juniper trees are usually too small to be commercially valuable in Canada but are widely used as ORNAMENTALS.
Common Juniper
Common juniper with flowers (right) and fruit (artwork by Claire Tremblay).
Juniper Cones
The round, berrylike seed cones of junipers are composed of fleshy, fused bracts and scales (courtesy John N. Owens).
Author JOHN N. OWENS
Links to Other Sites
The Plant List
Search this online database for information about one million plant species from around the world. Also, click on "major plant groups" at the bottom of the page to browse descriptions of species of interest. Fungi and algae are excluded. From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the UK and the Missouri Botanical Garden in the US.
Flora of North America
The FNA website features information on the names, taxonomic relationships, continent-wide distributions, and morphological characteristics of all plants native and naturalized found in North America north of Mexico.
Shawnadithit grew anxious waiting for her uncle, Longnon, to return to camp at the junction of Badger Brook and the Exploits River, deep in the wilds of Newfoundland...
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