Also called ground cedar.

Part of juniper  genus Juniperus in cypress / juniper / redwood  family Cupressaceae in 🌲︎ conifer  order Pinales.


Native circumpolar through the 🌐︎ Northern Hemisphere:  🇨🇦 Canada, 🇺🇸 USA northern and 🗻︎ mountainous areas, coastal 🇬🇱 Greenland, 🇮🇸 Iceland, 🇪🇺 Europe and Asia.

🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48), 🗺 map (scroll down), 🗺 map (North America, Central America).  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)

Juniperus hosts caterpillars of 41 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas.

Junipers are the winter host for 🍄︎⚕︎ fungal disease trellis rust (TR)  Gymnosporangium sabinae.  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

Which then transfers to nearby 🍐︎ pear  genus Pyrus as the ☀︎ summer host.  Then back again!

So in areas that may have this disease, do not plant these two hosts within 300 m (1000 ft) of each other!  (In most towns, 3 blocks, maybe.)

Learn more about common juniper Juniperus communis

🔍︎ 🔍︎ images Discover Life Encyclopedia of Life Gymnosperm database Michigan Flora Minnesota Wildflowers Missouri Botanical Garden Native Plant Trust Flora of North America USDA PLANTS db USFS Wikipedia