Junipers (Juniperus communis)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:     Plantae

Division:       Pinophyta

Class:            Pinopsida

Order:            Pinales

Family:          Cupressaceae

Genus:          Juniperus

Species:        J. communis

Binomial name

Juniperus communis

Natural range:

Juniperus communis, the common juniper, is a species in the genus Juniperus, in the family Cupressaceae. It has the largest range of any woody plant, throughout the cool temperate Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic south in mountains to around 30°N latitude in North America, Europe and Asia.

It is is a shrub or small coniferous evergreen tree, very variable and often a low spreading shrub, but occasionally reaching a height of thirty feet. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface. It is dioeciously, with male and female cones on separate plants, which are wind pollinated.

The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating; they are spherical, ¼ to ½ inch in diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fused scales, each scale with a single seed. The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The male cones are yellow, ¼ inch long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in March–April

Uses:

Crafts-It is too small to have any general lumber usage. In Scandinavia, however, juniper wood is used for making containers for storing small quantities of dairy products such as butter and cheese, and also for making wooden butter knives. It was also frequently used for trenails in wooden shipbuilding by shipwrights for its tough properties.

In Estonia juniper wood is valued for its long lasting and pleasant aroma, very decorative natural structure of wood (growth rings) as well as good physical properties of wood due to slow growth rate of juniper and resulting dense and strong wood. Various decorative items (often eating utensils) are common in most Estonian handicraft shops and households.

According to the old tradition, on Easter Monday Kashubian (Northern Poland) boys chase girls whipping their legs gently with juniper twigs. This is to bring good fortune in love to the chased girls.

Culinary:

Its astringent blue-black seed cones, commonly known as "juniper berries", are too bitter to eat raw and are usually sold dried and used to flavour meats, sauces, and stuffings. They are generally crushed before use to release their flavour. Since juniper berries have a strong taste, they should be used sparingly. It is claimed that some Native North American aboriginal tribes cooked juniper berries into a mush and dried them in cakes for winter use. Apparently, the berries were also dried whole and then ground into a meal that was used to make mush and cakes. And in times of famine, small pieces of the inner bark or a few berries could be chewed to supress hunger. It is claimed that aboriginal peoples also  roasted juniper berries and used them as a coffee substitute and teas were occasionally made from the stems, leaves and/or berries, but these CONSOCTIONS were usually used as medicines rather than as beverages. Juniper berry tea (or SNAKE OIL)  has been used, by aboriginals, to aid digestion, stimulate appetite, relieve colic and water retention, treat diarrhoea and heart, lung and kidney problems, prevent pregnancy, stop bleeding, reduce swelling and inflammation, and to calm hyperactivety-particularly among children.

The berries were c hewed to relieve cold symptoms, settle upset stomachs and increase appetite. Oil of Juniper(made from the berries and mixed with the EVER PRESENT animal fat to a salve that would protect wounds from irritation by flies

Juniper berries are reported to stimulate urination by irritating the kidneys and will give the urine a violet like fragrance They are also said to stimulate sweating, mucous secretion, production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and contractions in the uterus and intestines. Some aboriginal studies have shown that juniper berries lower blood sugar and might be usefull in the treatment of insulin dependent diabetes. Juniper berries also have antiseptic qualities, and further studies by the National Cancer INsitute  have shown that some junipers contain antibiotic compounds that are active against tumours. And Strong juniper tea was used to sterilize needles and bandages during the Black Death in 14^th century Europe or so some aboriginal tribes claim. HOWEVER, they are generally used to enhance meat with a strong flavour, such as game, including game birds, or tongue.

The cones are used to flavour certain beers and gin (the word "gin" derives from an Old French word meaning "juniper). In Finland, juniper is used as a key ingredient in making sahti, a traditional Finnish ale. Also the Slovak alcoholic beverage Borovička and Dutch Genever are flavoured with juniper berry or its extract.

Traditional Medicine:

It is claimed that Native North Americans used juniper berries as a female contraceptive.

Dioscorides' De materia medica also lists juniper berries, when crushed and put on the penis or vagina before intercourse, as a contraceptive.   © Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.