Juniperus communis is a shrub or small coniferousevergreentree. It is a low spreading shrub. Sometimes it can reach 10 m tall.
The seed cones are berry-like. They are green when ripening. In 18 months they change to purple-black with a blue waxy coating.
Uses
Foliage and berries
Crafts
It is too small to be used for lumber. In Scandinavia, however, juniper wood is used for making containers. These containers store small amounts of dairy products such as butter and cheese. In Estonia juniper wood is valued for its long lasting and pleasant aroma. Various decorative items (often eating utensils) are common in most Estonian handicraft shops and households.
Culinary
Its astringent blue-black seeds, commonly known as "Juniper berries", are too bitter to eat raw. They are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. The berries are used to flavour certain beers and gin.[2] The Slovak national alcoholic beverage Borovička is also flavoured with juniper berry extract.
Traditional medicine
Juniper berries have long been used as medicine by many cultures. Juniper berries act as a strong urinary tract disinfectant if eaten. They were used by Native Americans as an herbal remedy for diabetes.[3] Western American tribes combined the berries of Juniperus communis with Berberis root bark in a herbal tea. Native Americans also used juniper berries as a female contraceptive.[4]
Gallery
As the cones need more than a year to become ripe, both ripe and unripe cones can be seen together, as on this tree on Saaremaa, Estonia
Juniperus communis subsp. communis on Lüneburg Heath, Germany
↑Conifer Specialist Group 1998. Juniperus communis. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 03 March 2010.
↑Shorter Oxford English dictionary, 6th ed. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. 2007. p. 3804. ISBN978-0199206872.
