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Juniperus (ancient Latin name). Pinaceae. Juniper. Ornamental trees and shrubs grown for their foliage and habit.
Evergreen, with the branchlets spreading in all directions: lvs. either all needle-shaped and in 3's, or needle-shaped and scale-like, and usually opposite, often found on the same plant, the needle-shaped lvs. prevailing on younger plants and vigorous branches, the scale-like ones on older plants: fls. dioecious, rarely monoecious; staminate yellow, consisting of numerous anthers united into an ovoid or oblong catkin; pistillate greenish, minutely globular, with several bracts, each or some bearing 1 or 2 ovules; the bracts become fleshy and unite into a berry-like cone, usually wholly inclosing the 1-6, rarely 12, seeds. The fr. ripens either the first year, as in J. virginiana, or the second, as in J. Sabina and most species, or in the third, as in J. communis.—About 40 species distributed throughout the extra-tropical regions of the northern hemisphere, in Amer. south to Mex. and W. India. Juniperus is closely allied to Cupressus, and sometimes hard to distinguish without fr.; but young plants with needle- shaped lvs. can be almost always told apart, since Juniperus has whitish lines or marks on the upper surface of the lvs., while the similar juvenile forms of allied genera have the whitish marks beneath. Most species are very variable, as well in habit as in the shape of the lvs., which renders the determination of an unknown form, at least without fr., a rather difficult task.
The junipers vary greatly in habit from tall pyramidal trees to low prostrate or trailing shrubs, and have small needle-shaped or scale-like foliage, insignificant flowers and small berry-like fruits usually bluish black and often glaucous, less often brown or orange. Many of the species are hardy North, as J. virginiana, J. scopulorum, J. communis, J. rigida, J. Sabina, J. chinensis, J. Pseudo-sabina, J, sphaerica, J. squamata; others are half-hardy, as J. Oxycedrus, J. macrorarpa, J. recurva, J. excelsa, J. occidentalis, while some, as J. procera, J. Lucayana, J. thurifera and the Mexican species, can only be grown South. All are valuable ornamental plants, and the erect-growing species, mostly of pyramidal or columnar habit, are decorative as single specimens on the lawn or if planted in groups. Some varieties form a very narrow column, and are valuable for formal gardens; the columnar form of J. virginiana is a good substitute in the North for the classical cypress. The low prostrate junipers, as J. communis var. montana, J. horizontalis, J. sabina, and J. squamala, are well adapted for covering rocky slopes or sandy banks. The close-grained, fragrant wood is much used for the interior finish of houses and in the manufacture of small articles, also for posts, since it is very durable in the soil; that of J. virginiana and J. Lucayana is in great demand for pencil-making. The fruits and also the young branchlets of some species contain an aromatic oil used in medicine. The fruit of J. drupacea is edible.
The junipers thrive best in sandy and loamy, moderately moist soil, but grow well even in rather dry, rocky and gravelly ground. They prefer sunny, open situations. They are well adapted for hedges and for planting as shelter or windbreaks; also for seaside planting. Propagation is by seeds, which germinate usually the second and sometimes the third year; to hasten their germination, they may be plunged for 3 to 6 seconds in boiling water, but this should be regarded as an experiment and tried only with a portion of seed. They, are also increased by cuttings of nearly ripened wood in fall under glass, either outdoors or in the greenhouse. As a rule, those with needle-shaped leaves root much more easily than those with scale-like leaves, and the latter are therefore mostly increased by side-grafting during the winter in the greenhouse on young potted plants of the typical form or an allied species. The shrubby species, especially J. Sabina, are also propagated by layers.
Index.
albo-spicata, 16.
albo-variegata,14,16
alpina, 6.
argentea, 14.
aurea, 6, 14.
aureo-variegata,6,14.
australis, 18.
barbadensis, 18,19.
bedfordiana, 18.
bermudiana, 19.
californica, 10.
canadensis, 6.
cannartii, 16.
Cedrus, 3.
chamberlaynii, 16.
chinensis, 14.
communis, 6.
cupressifolia, 20.
densa, 7.
depressa, 6.
douglasii, 21.
drupacea, 1.
dumosa, 16.
elegantissima, 16.
excelsa, 12.
fargesii, 8.
fastigiata, 6, 20.
femina, 14.
fortunei, 15.
glauca, 15, 16.
giobosa, 16.
hemisphaerica, 6.
hibernica, 6.
horizontalis, 21.
humilis, 20.
jackii, 6.
japonica, 14.
lucayana, 18.
macrocarpa, 2.
mascula, 14.
Montana, 6.
nana, 6.
neaboriensis, 2.
oblonga, 6.
oblong-pendula, 6, and suppl.
occidentalis, 11.
oxycedrus, 4.
pendula, 3,6,14,16.
pfitseriana, 14.
phoenicea, 9.
plumose, 16.
procera, 13.
procumbens, 14,21.
prostrata, 21.
pyramidalis, 14,16.
recurva, 7,8.
reevesii, 14.
reflexa, 6.
repanda, 7.
repens, 21.
reptans, 16.
rigida, 5.
sabina, 20.
sabinoides, 20 and suppl.
schottii, 16.
scopulorum, 17.
shephardii, 17.
sibirica, 6.
sinensis, 14.
sphaerica, 15.
squamata, 8.
stricta, 6,12.
suecica, 6.
tamariscifolia, 20.
tripartite, 16.
variegate, 12, 20.
venusta, 16.
virginiana, 16,18.
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