Juniperus communis

Commun juniper

Common juniper (Juniperus communis) is a slow-growing shrub that reaches up to 2 – 5 m.

It has needle shaped leaves 10 – 15 mm long and 2 mm wide, straight poignant dense. It is dioecious, with male and female cones, which are wind pollinated, on separate plants.

The fruit are berry-like cones, initially green, ripening in 18 months to purple-black with a blue waxy coating; they are spherical, 4–12 mm diameter, and usually have three (occasionally six) fleshy fused scales, each scale with a single seed.