Scientific Name:
Juniperus communis
Pronunciation:
joo-NIP-ur-us kum-YOU-niss
Common Name:
common juniper
Family Name:
Cupressaceae
Plant Type:
Conifer, Ground cover
Key ID Features:
Habit variable, from low - prostrate - spreading shrub in windy locations to rarely upright, 3m tall multi-stemmed tree (specimens on campus are so far upright, but there are numerous cultivars) leaves needle-like in whorls of three (branchlets 3-sided), most 7-13mm long, sharply tipped, whitish stomatal channel on upper surface, glaucous, many shorter needles arising from axilliary buds; usually dioecious - pollen cones yellow then brown, 2-3mm long; seed cones subglobose, 4-9(-13)mm wide, with three fleshy scales (berry-like), green maturing bluish-black with a blue waxy coating, 2 or 3 seeds.
Conifers.org
Habit:
Spreading
Form:
Creeping / Mat-like
Texture:
Fine
Mature Height:
2 - 3m
Mature Spread:
1.5 - 2.0m
Growth Rate:
Slow
Origin:
Central / west Asia, Europe, North America
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 2: (-46 to -40 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry, Well-drained
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Alpine, Attract birds, Erosion control, Filler, Group or mass planting, Mixed shrub border, Reclamation, Rock garden, Security/barrier
Additional Info:
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Needle-like
Arrangement:
Whorled
Texture/Venation:
Prickly
Surfaces:
Glabrous, Glaucous, Distinctive smell
Colour in Summer:
Bluish, Green
Colour in Fall:
Bluish, Green
Shapes:
Linear, Other
Apices:
Acute, Mucronate
Bases:
Sheathing
Margins:
Entire
Inflorescence Type:
n/a (male cone)
Flower Morphology:
Dioecious plant
Colour (petals):
Male cone, No flowers, Yellow, Brown
Flower Time at Peak:
Mar, Apr
Fruit Type:
Cone (winged seeds)
Fruit Colour:
Blue (dark blue with pale waxy residue)
Fruiting Time:
Sep, Oct
Additional Info:
Showy, berry-like, 2 seeded
Bark Morphology:
Papery, Exfoliating, Stringy, Multi-stem trunk
Bark or Stem Colour:
Red, Brown
Propagation:
Seed, Softwood cuttings
Pest Susceptibility:
Rust (Pest resistant, Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- Level 3 Apprenticeship
Location(s):
- (BCE) Boulevard (Circular) Eastend
- (FSC) Far South Campus