Juniperus communis

Scientific name: Juniperus communis Linnaeus 1753

Synonyms: Juniperus albanica Pénzes, Juniperus argaea Balansa ex Parl., Juniperus borealis Salisb., Juniperus caucasica Fisch. ex Gordon, Juniperus compressa Carrière, Juniperus cracovia K.Koch, Juniperus dealbata Loudon, Juniperus depressa Stevels, Juniperus difformis Gilib., Juniperus echinoformis Rinz ex Bolse, Juniperus elliptica K.Koch, Juniperus fastigiata Knight, Juniperus hemisphaerica C.Presl, Juniperus hibernica Lodd. ex Loudon, Juniperus hispanica Booth ex Endl., Juniperus interrupta H.L.Wendl. ex Endl., Juniperus kanitzii Csató, Juniperus microphylla Antoine, Juniperus niemanniiE.L.Wolf, Juniperus oblonga-pendula (Loudon) Van Geert ex K.Koch, Juniperus oblongopendula Loudon ex Beissn., Juniperus occidentalis Carrière, Juniperus reflexa Gordon, Juniperus saxatilis Lindl. & Gordon, Juniperus suecica Mill., Juniperus taurica Lindl. & Gordon, Juniperus uralensis Beissn., Juniperus vulgaris Bubani, Juniperus withmanniana Carrière, Sabina dealbata (Loudon) Antoine, Thuiaecarpus juniperinusTrautv.

Infraspecific taxa: Juniperus communis var. depressa Pursh 1813, Juniperus communis var. megistocarpa Fernald & H.St.John 1921, Juniperus communis var. nipponica (Maxim.) E.H.Wilson 1916, Juniperus communis var. saxatilis Pall. 1789

Common names: Common juniper, Siberian juniper, Dwarf juniper (English), Genévrier commun (French), Enebro común (Spanish), Ipar ipurua (Basque), Gemeine Wacholder, Gewöhnlicher Wacholder, Heide-Wacholder, Wacholder, Zwergwacholder (German), Ginepro (Italian)

Description

Of quite variable habit, low or tall shrub to 4-5 m high or tree to 15 m tall, usually multistemmed, with stems to 20(-30) cm in diameter. Bark reddish brown, peeling in longitudinal strips or flakes. Crown ranging from wide and flattened to columnar, with spreading branches. Branchlets with three ridges. Adult leaves in alternating trios, needlelike, (4-)10-20(-25) mm long, 1-2 mm wide, dark green, standing out from and with a jointed attachment to the twig, the edges smooth, the upper (forward) side flat, with a single broad or narrow white-waxy stomatal band, the lower side with an elongate gland, the tip spinelike. Pollen and seed cones on separate plants. Pollen cones oblong, 4-5 mm long, with five or six alternating trios of pollen scales. Seed cones spherical when fully mature, otherwise slightly elongated, 6-9(-13) mm long, bluish black, maturing in 2-3 years. Seeds two to four, 4-5 mm long, with resinous pits, dark brown, the paler attachment scar extending more than halfway up the seed.

Widespread across the northern hemisphere at middle to high latitudes. Varied open, dryish habitats in boreal and montane regions; 0-2,800(-4,000) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

This is the most widespread species of conifer in the world. While it is struggling to survive in some areas, e.g. England, it is increasing elsewhere; both phenomena in its population dynamics are related to shifts in agricultural practices and general land use. Its var. saxatilis, mainly an arctic-alpine form, is circum-polar in distribution. Globally, this species or any of its varieties are not threatened with extinction. It is assessed as Least Concern.

This is largely a pioneer woodland species, occupying natural rock outcrops and other places with skeletal soil and abundant sunlight in woodland and light forest, both broad-leaf and coniferous forest (especially Pinus sylvestris-Betula spp.-Quercus spp.), in which it can obtain local dominance after disturbances (non-fire). It is also prevalent in the ecotone between open woodland and grassland on poor sandy soils and on stabilised inland sand dunes. It occurs often with Calluna vulgaris, Erica spp., Vaccinium spp., Arbutus sp., Cytisus scoparius, Ulex sp., Salix spp., and the above mentioned tree genera, in Russia also in grass steppes. The altitude ranges from 5 m to 2,400 m a.s.l. It seems very indifferent to soil type and occurs in dry sand, chalk downs, and loose (dolomitic) scree, as well as in acidic peat, with low or fluctuating ground water levels.

The Common juniper is widely used as an ornamental in parks and gardens, especially the decumbent varieties, and numerous cultivars have been derived from it. The cones ('berries') are used in cooking and in the preparation of alcoholic distilled beverages. Juniperus communis var. communis has been used for a considerable time in European horticulture, where especially the fastigiate habit of some NW European plants is popular, and a number of cultivars have been obtained by selection. Juniperus communis var. saxatilis, being a prostrate shrub, is a useful plant in horticulture, where it is usually known as Juniperus communis var. montana or var. nana, or under a number of cultivar names (= vegetatively propagated clones) selected for dwarfed growth, branching habit, foliage colour, etc. An essential oil is obtained from the berries and used in traditional herbal medicine. It is orally used to treat urinary tract complaints and digestive orders such as flatulence or dyspepsia or applied externally in case of muscular or articular pain (European Medicines Agency 2010).

This species occurs in many protected areas across its range. It is included in the following national red lists:

Endangered in Luxembourg (Colling 2005);
Vulnerable in Belgium (Van Landuyt et al. 2006) and Czech Republic (Holub and Procházka 2000);
Near Threatened in the Netherlands (van der Meijden et al. 2000);
Least Concern in Denmark (NERI 2007), Norway (Artsdatabanken 2010), Switzerland (Moser et al. 2002) and the United Kingdom (Cheffings and Farrell 2005).

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland

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