OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Cupressales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Juniperus virginiana   FAMILY Cupressaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana   FAMILY Cupressaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana

INCLUDED WITHIN Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)

Juniperus virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 018-03-002:

Juniperus virginiana   FAMILY Cupressaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Sabina virginiana

 

COMMON NAME:
Eastern Red Cedar


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux    dcp34_p18a

        

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_120

        

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm0502a_19

February    Greenville County    SC

Chandler Heritage Preserve

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm230228_1309

February    Pickens County    SC

Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve

Gymnosporangium rusts infect both junipers (esp. red cedar) and woody plants in the rose family, per Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic @ University of Wisconsin-Madison.

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_j_virginiana_2

February        

Crown usually dense and conical, widening with age but rarely flattening, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Gill Newberry    gn03_j_virginiana_male

March        

Pollen cones about 1/8" long, terminal, numerous, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm0403p_23

March    Greenville County    SC

Bunched Arrowhead Heritage Preserve

Most abundant on circumneutral soils from mafic or calcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora.

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmjvirginiana_and

March    Anderson County    SC

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Gill Newberry    gn05_j_virginiana_branch_

May        

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Gill Newberry    gn05_j_virginiana_seeds

May        

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm160512_002

May    Greenville County    SC

The durable red wood used for posts, railroad ties, cedar chests and pencils, per Trees Worth Knowing (Rogers, 1924).

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Sam Pratt    sbp_1698

May    Spartanburg County    SC

In cultivation

The cedar phase of the Apple Cedar Rust parasite, Gymnosporangium spp., in May.

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    s060617_j

June    Greenville County    SC

Leaves on juvenile shoots sharply tipped and subulate, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Richard and Teresa Ware    rtw_juniperus_virginiana

July        

Bark is shreddy, fibrous, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm131020_943

October    Spartanburg County    SC

Over-winter phase of Apple Cedar Rust parasite, Gymnosporangium spp., in October

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Gill Newberry    gn11_j_v_female_old

November        

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Gill Newberry    gn11_jv_bark_2

November        

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm151227_055

December    Pickens County    SC

Leaves appressed and scalelike (acicular) on mature twigs, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

JK Marlow    jkm151227_866

December    Pickens County    SC

image of Juniperus virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar

Patrick D. McMillan    pdmjvirginiana_farb

Month Unknown    Lancaster County    SC

Forty Acre Rock Heritage Preserve

Mature seed cones ~ 1/4", berry-like, greenish-blue with whitish coating, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE conifers (not including Pines)

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Juniperus virginiana   FAMILY Cupressaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana   FAMILY Cupressaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana

INCLUDED WITHIN Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin & Hansen, 2011)
Juniperus virginiana

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 018-03-002:
Juniperus virginiana   FAMILY Cupressaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Sabina virginiana

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

777

Tree
Perennial
Dioecious

Habitat: Bluffs, glades, upland forests and woodlands, pastures, old fields, roadsides, and fencerows, primarily upland, occurring most abundantly on (but by no means restricted to) circumneutral soils (including shrink-swell clays) derived from mafic or calcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common (uncommon in GA Coastal Plain)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Leaves spine-tipped on juvenile wood

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Leaves of mature shoots scale-like, paired; those of juvenile shoots whorled

"FLOWER":
Winter/Spring
Unisexual

FRUIT:
Fall
Bluish-black
Berry-like cone

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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