Juniperus virginiana

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Juniperus virginiana
2014-05-13 08 32 55 Eastern Red Cedar at South Riding Golf Club in South Riding, Virginia.JPG
Juniperus virginiana on a golf course in northern Virginia
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Cupressales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Juniperus
Section: Juniperus sect. Sabina
Species:
J. virginiana
Binomial name
Juniperus virginiana
L.
Juniperus virginiana vars range map 3.png
Natural distribution of varieties:
J. virginiana var. virginiana (green)
and J. virginiana var. silicicola (red)

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).

Contents

Description

Juniperus virginiana foliage and mature cones Juniper berries q.jpg
Juniperus virginiana foliage and mature cones

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 (31638 in) long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves 2–4 mm (116316 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 (1814 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 (11618 in) long and 1.5 mm (116 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.

Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) (1).jpg
Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana)

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

Ecology

Characteristic shape in old field succession Juniperus virginiana near Oxford, Ohio.jpg
Characteristic shape in old field succession

Eastern Red Cedar is a pioneer species, meaning that it is one of the first trees to repopulate disturbed sites. It is unusually long lived among pioneer species, with the potential to live over 900 years. It is commonly found in prairies or oak barrens, old pastures, or limestone hills, often along highways and near recent construction sites. [5] [6] [11] It is an alternate host for cedar–apple rust, an economically significant fungal disease of apples, and some management strategies recommend the removal of J. virginiana near apple orchards [12]

Eastern Red Cedar grows in a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. The tree is extremely tolerant of drought due to its extensive, fibrous root system and reduced leaf area. It can be found from droughty, rocky soils with few nutrients to rich alluvial soils with abundant moisture. However, Eastern Red Cedar is almost never dominant on such rich mesic sites due to intense competition with faster growing, more shade tolerant hardwood trees. [13] [14]

Outside of its native range it is considered an invasive species, and it can be aggressive even within its range. It is fire-intolerant, and was previously controlled by periodic wildfires. Low branches near the ground burn and provide a ladder that allows fire to engulf the whole tree. Grasses recover quickly from low severity fires that are characteristic of prairies that kept the trees at bay. With the urbanization of prairies, the fires have been stopped with roads, plowed fields, and other fire breaks, allowing J. virginiana and other trees to invade. [15] Trees are destructive to grasslands if left unchecked, and are actively being eliminated by cutting and prescribed burning. [16] The trees also burn very readily, and dense populations were blamed for the rapid spread of wildfires in drought stricken Oklahoma and Texas in 2005 and 2006. [17] On the Great Plains, expanding red cedar populations are altering the plains ecosystem: a majority of the region's bird species are not present in areas where the tree's land cover exceeds 10 percent, and most small mammal species are not present where land cover exceeds 30 percent. [18]

Eastern juniper benefits from increased CO2 levels, unlike the grasses with which it competes. Many grasses are C4 plants that concentrate CO2 levels in their bundle sheaths to increase the efficiency of RuBisCO, the enzyme responsible for photosynthesis, while junipers are C3 plants that rely on (and may benefit from) the natural CO2 concentrations of the environment, although they are less efficient at fixing CO2 in general. [19]

Alterations of prairie ecosystems by J. virginiana include outcompeting forage species in pastureland. The low branches and wide base occupy a significant portion of land area. The thick foliage blocks out most light, so few plants can live under the canopy. The needles that fall raise the pH of the soil, making it alkaline, which holds nutrients such as phosphorus, making it harder for plants to absorb them. [20] However, studies have found that Juniperus virginiana forests that replace grasslands have a statistically insignificant decrease [21] to a significant increase [19] in levels of soil nitrogen. J. virginiana forests have higher overall nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), despite the common grassland species Andropogon gerardi having a far higher NUE during photosynthesis (PNUE). [19] The forests store much greater amounts of carbon in both biomass and soil, with most of the additional carbon stored aboveground. There is no significant difference in soil microbial activity. [19]

Cedar waxwings are fond of juniper berries. It takes about 12 minutes for their seeds to pass through the birds' guts, and seeds that have been consumed by this bird have levels of germination roughly three times higher than those of seeds the birds did not eat. Many other birds such as turkeys and bluebirds, along with many mammals such as rabbits, foxes, raccoons, and coyotes also consume them. [11] [14]

Virginia Juniper's compact, evergreen foliage makes it favorable for bird nests and as a winter shelter location for birds and mammals. [14] Some species of small mammals live exclusively in red cedar forests. [22]

Pollen

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]

Uses

"Berries" of the 'Corcorcor' cultivar Eastern Redcedar Juniperus virginiana 'Corcorcor' Berries 1800px.jpg
"Berries" of the 'Corcorcor' cultivar

The fragrant, finely grained, soft, brittle, very light, pinkish to brownish red heartwood is very durable, even in contact with soil. Because of its resistance to decay, the wood is often used for fence posts. Moths avoid the aromatic wood, and therefore it is in demand as lining for clothes chests and closets, which are often denominated "cedar closets" and "cedar chests". If correctly prepared, excellent English longbows, flatbows, and Native American sinew-backed bows can be made from it. It is marketed as "eastern redcedar" and "aromatic cedar". The best portions of the heartwood are one of the few woods that are suitable for making pencils, however the supply had so diminished by the 1940s that the wood of the incense-cedar largely replaced it. [11]

A log sawn in two and turned on a lathe, exposing the pale sapwood and the reddish heartwood JuniperLogs.jpg
A log sawn in two and turned on a lathe, exposing the pale sapwood and the reddish heartwood

Part of the commercially available cedar oil is produced by steam distillation from wood shavings. It contains a wide variety of terpenes. The three major components, alpha-cedrene, thujopsene and cedrol, constitute more than 60% of the essential oil. [24] [25] [26] The fruits also yield an essential oil which contains mostly D-Limonene. [27]

The oil derived from foliage and twigs has two main constituents: safrole and limonene. [28] One minor compound is the podophyllotoxin, a non-alkaloid toxin lignan. [29]

Native American tribes have historically used poles of juniper wood to demarcate agreed tribal hunting territories. French traders named Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which denotes "red stick", from the reddish color of these poles. Some nations continue to use it ceremonially.[ citation needed ]

The Cahokia Woodhenge series of timber circles that the pre-Columbian Mississippian culture in western Illinois erected were constructed of massive logs of eastern juniper. One iteration of such a circle, Woodhenge III, which is thought to have been constructed circa 1000 AD, had 48 posts in the circle of 410 feet (120 m) in diameter and a 49th pole in the center. [30]

Among many Native American cultures, the smoke of burning eastern juniper is believed to expel evil spirits prior to conducting a ceremony, such as a healing ceremony. [31]

During the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s, the Prairie States Forest Project encouraged farmers to plant shelterbelts, i.e. wind breaks, of eastern juniper throughout the Great Plains of the US. The trees thrive in adverse conditions. Tolerant of both drought and cold, they grow well in rocky, sandy, and clayey soils. Competition between individual trees is minimal, and therefore they can be closely planted in rows, in which situation they still grow to full height, creating a solid windbreak in a short time. [32]

A number of cultivars have been selected for horticulture, including 'Canaertii' (narrow conical; female) 'Corcorcor' (with a dense, erect crown; female), 'Goldspire' (narrow conical with yellow foliage), and 'Kobold' (dwarf). Some cultivars previously listed under this species, notably 'Skyrocket', are actually cultivars of J. scopulorum. [33]

In the Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma Ozarks, eastern juniper is commonly used as a Christmas tree.

This is the most widely used wood for making blocks for recorders. There are numerous properties that it possesses that make it uniquely suitable for this, such as good moisture absorption, low expansion when wet (so it does not crack the recorder head), and mild antiseptic properties.

Eastern red cedar is considered effective as a shelter-belt tree and for erosion control. Being coniferous, red cedar has dense evergreen foliage which makes it an ideal windbreak. The tree's extensive root system allows it to survive drought, and helps to retain surrounding topsoil during dry, windy conditions. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Cedrus</i> Genus of plants (coniferous trees)

Cedrus, with the common English name cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalayas and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juniper</span> Genus of plants

Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa, throughout parts of western, central and southern Asia, east to eastern Tibet in the Old World, and in the mountains of Central America. The highest-known juniper forest occurs at an altitude of 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) in southeastern Tibet and the northern Himalayas, creating one of the highest tree lines on earth.

<i>Juniperus communis</i> Species of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae

Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species of small tree or shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae. An evergreen conifer, it has the largest geographical range of any woody plant, with a circumpolar distribution throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere.

<i>Juniperus ashei</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus ashei is a drought-tolerant evergreen tree, native from northeastern Mexico and the south-central United States to southern Missouri. The largest areas are in central Texas, where extensive stands occur. Ashe juniper grows up to 10 metres tall, and over time can reach 15 m (49 ft), and provides erosion control and year-round shade for wildlife and livestock.

<i>Thuja plicata</i> Species of conifer

Thuja plicata is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Cupressaceae, native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. Its common name is western redcedar in the U.S. or western red cedar in the UK, and it is also called pacific red cedar, giant arborvitae, western arborvitae, just cedar, giant cedar, or shinglewood. It is not a true cedar of the genus Cedrus. T. plicata is the largest species in the genus Thuja, growing up to 70 metres (230 ft) tall and 7 m (23 ft) in diameter. It mostly grows in areas that experience a mild climate with plentiful rainfall, although it is sometimes present in drier areas on sites where water is available year-round, such as wet valley bottoms and mountain streamsides. The species is shade-tolerant and able to establish in forest understories and is thus considered a climax species. It is a very long-lived tree, with some specimens reaching ages of well over 1,000 years.

<i>Thuja occidentalis</i> Species of evergreen coniferous tree

Thuja occidentalis, also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, or arborvitae, is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to eastern Canada and much of the north-central and northeastern United States. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. It is not to be confused with Juniperus virginiana.

<i>Pinus virginiana</i> Species of conifer

Pinus virginiana, the Virginia pine, scrub pine, Jersey pine, possum pine, is a medium-sized tree, often found on poorer soils from Long Island in southern New York south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama. The usual size range for this pine is 9–18 m, but can grow larger under optimum conditions. The trunk can be as large as 20 inches diameter. This tree prefers well-drained loam or clay, but will also grow on very poor, sandy soil, where it remains small and stunted. The typical life span is 65 to 90 years.

<i>Juniperus oxycedrus</i> Species of plant

Juniperus oxycedrus, vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level. The specific epithet oxycedrus means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or cedrus of the ancient Greeks.

<i>Juniperus osteosperma</i> Species of plant

Juniperus osteosperma is a shrub or small tree native to the southwestern United States.

<i>Juniperus californica</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus californica, the California juniper, is a species of juniper native to southwestern North America.

<i>Juniperus occidentalis</i> Species of tree in North America

Juniperus occidentalis, known as the western juniper, is a shrub or tree native to the Western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800–3,000 meters (2,600–9,800 ft) and rarely down to 100 m (330 ft). It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because it is a widespread species with an increasing population.

<i>Juniperus scopulorum</i> Western North American species of juniper

Juniperus scopulorum, the Rocky Mountain juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, from southwest Canada to the Great Plains of the United States and small areas of northern Mexico. They are the most widespread of all the New World junipers. They are relatively small trees, occasionally just a large bush or stunted snag. They tend to be found in isolated groves or even as single trees rather than as the dominant tree of a forest. Though they can survive fires, they are quite vulnerable to it and this is one of the factors that can limit their spread into grasslands. They are important to wildlife, providing shelter and food to a range of species from small birds and mammals to deer and bighorn sheep. The primary human use is in landscaping for aesthetic purposes, to shelter habitations, or attract fruit eating birds. Though they are also used in small amounts for their insect repellent and rot resistant wood or as firewood for heating.

<i>Juniperus horizontalis</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus horizontalis, the creeping juniper or creeping cedar, is a low-growing shrubby juniper native to northern North America, throughout most of Canada from Yukon east to Newfoundland, and in some of the northern United States.

<i>Juniperus thurifera</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus thurifera is a species of juniper native to the mountains of the western Mediterranean region, from southern France across eastern and central Spain to Morocco and locally in northern Algeria.

<i>Juniperus recurva</i> Species of juniper

Juniperus recurva, commonly named the Himalayan juniper or drooping juniper, is a juniper native to the Himalaya, from northern Pakistan, through India, Nepal and Bhutan, to western Yunnan in southwestern China. It grows at altitudes of 3,000–4,000 metres.

<i>Calocedrus decurrens</i> Species of conifer

Calocedrus decurrens, with the common names incense cedar and California incense cedar, is a species of coniferous tree native to western North America. It is the most widely known species in the genus, and is often simply called incense cedar without the regional qualifier.

<i>Juniperus deppeana</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus deppeana is a small to medium-sized tree reaching 10–15 metres in height. It is native to central and northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

<i>Juniperus phoenicea</i> Species of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae

Juniperus phoenicea, the Phoenicean juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region.

<i>Juniperus rigida</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus rigida, the temple juniper, is a species of juniper, native to northern China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and the far southeast of Russia, occurring at altitudes of 10–2,200 metres (33–7,218 ft). The species is also naturalized in the United States. It is closely related to Juniperus communis and Juniperus conferta, the latter sometimes treated as a variety or subspecies of J. rigida.

References

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