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Juniper Berries. There are many different trees in the Juniper (Juniperus) family. There are three native Junipers that I know of in the Eastern part of North America, the Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), the Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) and a tree called the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). It is oddly called a Cedar, even though it is not a Cedar, but a Juniper. Very commonly found in nurseries for sale is the Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) and hybrids of it with other Junipers. Because of this, this one is commonly found in yards in cities. Hybrids of the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and the Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) can be found in Southern Ontario on sandy and rocky sites that get harsh winter winds, such as near lakes.

The "berries" (not really berries technically, but they look like berries - they are really cones) are used as spices and medicine. They are very tiny (about half the diameter of a small pea) and have a blueish "bloom" or dusty surface that wipes off easily when touched.

Caution: Do not use the European Juniperus sabina and Juniperus oxycedrus for food at all. They are sold at nurseries, and the berries are not edible. Also, do not use berries from the commonly sold hybrid known as the Pfitzer Juniper (Juniperus × pfitzeriana). I also strongly suggest not using the Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and any of its hybrids, though Native Americans did use this one, there is the possibility the seeds are slightly toxic. I only can recommend three, though there are others that are said to be safe to eat. The three are: Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), the Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) and the Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis). The first choice is the Common Juniper (Juniperus communis).

Juniper berries from the Common Juniper are used to flavor Gin, some beers and are used as the spice for sauces for foods. This is not a berry to make a meal of, just eat a couple at a time or use a few for flavoring sauces. Often you will read they are too strong to eat fresh, I don't feel that way. I do eat them fresh. My reasons are twofold. One is that I really like the taste of them, and a few eaten on a walk one at a time is really tasty to me. The taste lingers on for a long time after eating them, and I find it very pleasant. It is a fragrant taste - nothing else like it. I have to admit, when I first started eating them, I wasn't too keen on them. Now I quite like them.

Berries from the Common Juniper are known to reduce inflammation in the body. For a few days after eating them I personally notice a difference, especially with my knees. There is folk remedy for arthritis that is popular now using Gin and Golden Raisins. I've tried it, and it does seem to help. Good quality Gin is made with Common Juniper berries, so I tried just eating the Juniper berries instead, and found the effect was the same to better - and a lot cheaper.

Growing this plant in your home garden:

For detailed growing instructions, go to my Wild Foods Home Garden website Juniper page.

Recipe search on the web here (Google search) and here (Bing search).

USDA distribution map and plant profile for all Junipers in North America here.

The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map of all Junipers in North America here. BONAP map color key here.

Common Juniper

Common Juniper (Juniperus communis)

Leaves grow like spiky versions of Yew (Taxus) leaves. Yews, which are very poisonous, have berries that when unripe are green and could be mistaken by someone unfamiliar with both - so if you are in the learning stage, compare the pictures of the Yew in the Yew Berry section with the pictures below of the Juniper.

Juniper Berries are almost perfectly spherical, while unripe Yew Berries have a hollow round hole in the bottom that extends to the seed inside. The foliage of the Juniper is scratchy and prickly feeling, while the Yew is soft to the touch - this is an important identifying feature of Junipers. The Juniper is a dusty blueish in color, while the Yew is a dark green with no dusty look. Once you know the difference, you will never mistake them.

• Plant Size: Highly variable coniferous evergreen tree or Shrub
• Duration: Can live hundreds of years
• Leaf Shape: Needle-like leaves that form in threes
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: whorls of three
• Leaf Size: 11-15 mm long, 1-1.4 mm wide on average
• Leaf Margin: Edge of needle like leaves are smooth
• Leaf Notes: This Juniper has the needle like leaves only, unlike the Juniperus chinensis and the Juniperus virginiana which have the two forms of leaves. The leaves/needles are stiff and have a sharp, hard feel and give a prickly feel when handling the tree or shrub. This is a good identifying feature
• Flowers: Pollen bearing male cones and female cones that appear as the berries
• Fruit: Blue berry-like cone often with a whitish blue dusty surface known as a "bloom". Referred to as a Juniper Berry
• Bark: New growth green, branches reddish, Mature bark grey often with reddish tone and vertical shredding
• Habitat: Highly varied habitats, scrubland, conifer forests, fields, rocky areas, can withstand very cold temperatures, tolerant of varied soil alkalinity

• Pictures of the Common Juniper on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• Pictures of the berries on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Creeping Juniper

Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis). Also known as the Creeping Cedar.

• Plant Size: Up to 30 cm (1 foot) tall, but spreading very wide along the ground
• Duration: Long lived
• Leaf Shape: Adult: tiny overlapping scale like leaves. Seedlings: spike shaped leaves
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Opposite pairs or wholes of three
• Leaf Size: Seedlings: up to 10 mm (inches). Adult: 1-1.5mm to 8 mm on terminal leaf
• Leaf Notes: Leaves on adult specimens grow like the adult leaves on the Chinese Juniper and Cedar tree leaves. New growth has a blue hue, while older leaves seem more green. There are cultivars that have colors that are not typical of what you would find in the wild - yellowish, green and variegated.
• Flowers: Male trees have small cones, females trees have the berry like cones
• Fruit: Small blue (green unripe) berry like cone. Fruit tastes basically the same as the Eastern Red Cedar
• Bark: Scaly reddish brown
• Habitat: Northern climates, but cultivars are sold in nurseries all over

• Pictures of the Creeping Juniper on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• Pictures of the berries on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Eastern Red Cedar

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Also known as the Red Cedar and the Eastern Red Juniper. If you have spring allergies, this tree may be something you are allergic too. If you know that is the case, or are not sure, don't touch this tree, as it could leave a skin rash on you. I suggest not eating the berries from this one.

I see this tree most often in gravely, sandy areas that have been left abandoned. Old, unused gravel pits in my area tend to have this tree as one of the earlier succession trees after the grasses and wildflowers. Makes a good windbreak hedge along a country driveway. I've included this one here just to know what to avoid.

Growing this plant in your home garden:

Not a good choice, as the leaves can cause allergic skin reactions with some people, and it causes spring allergies for many. Also, the fruit is not recommended to eat.

• Plant Size: From the size of a Shrub to 27 meters (90 feet) tall
• Duration: Can live hundreds of years
• Leaf Shape: Juvenile leaves: needle like. Mature: Very small overlapping scale like leaf
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: Opposite pairs (sometimes a whorl of three) with the mature leaves
• Leaf Size: Juvenile leaves: 5-10 mm long. Mature: each scale like leaf is 2-4 mm long
• Leaf Notes: Although after the first three years or so, the leaves change from the juvenile to mature type, very often in shaded parts of the inner branches there will still be some juvenile type leaves growing.
• Fruit: Blue colored berry shaped cone. Edible in small amounts.
• Bark: Reddish brown, when older with vertical peeling strips, bark has a rope like texture
• Habitat: Thrives in harsh dry and poor soil areas. Although will grow fine in clay, it seems to show up on its own most often in dry sandy, rocky soils on exposed sites.

• Pictures of the Eastern Red Cedar on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• Pictures of the berries on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• USDA distribution map and plant profile here.
• The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) distribution map here. BONAP map color key here.

Chinese Juniper

Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis). There are many cultivars and hybrids with this one and others, so keep that in mind with the description. If you are going to eat the berries from this one, you must be sure it is not a hybrid with any of the poisonous ones.

• Plant Size: Shrub to tree that can reach 20 meters (65 feet) tall
• Duration: Can live for hundreds of years
• Leaf Shape: Juvenile leaves: needle like. Mature: Very small overlapping scale like leaf
• Leaf Phyllotaxis (Leaf Arrangement) on branch: On mature leaves, the scales are generally in opposite pairs
• Leaf Size: Juvenile leaves: 5-10 mm long. Mature: each scale like leaf is 1.5-3 mm long
• Leaf Notes: Although after the first few years of the tree, the leaves change from the juvenile to mature type, very often in shaded parts of the inner branches there will still be some juvenile type leaves growing.
• Fruit: Dark blue berry like cone often with whitish blue bloom (dusty coating that wipes off easily)
• Bark: Fresh growth is green, older branches reddish to almost purple reddish. Mature bark is light weathered grey to reddish with vertical lines and sometimes vertical shredding
• Habitat: In Eastern North America, will be found as landscape trees in city parks and private yards. Probably naturalized in North America, but I have not found specimens in the wild myself.

• Pictures of the Chinese on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).
• Pictures of the berries on the web here (Google images) and here (Bing images).

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