A large group of related plants in
cypress / juniper / redwood family Cupressaceae
(in
🌲︎ conifer order Pinales
), including species
common juniper Juniperus communis,
creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis
and
◼︎ eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana.
Please let us know which other species you would like to see here, using the
button at the bottom of this page.
Different species are native 🌍︎🌎︎🌏︎ worldwide, mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.
🗺 Map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48)
(color key).
Junipers are the ❄ winter host for 🍄︎⚕︎ fungal disease
trellis rust (TR) Gymnosporangium sabinae. 
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.)
Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)
Juniperus hosts caterpillars of 41 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas.
Male trees score 🤧︎ most allergenic (10 out of 10) on the OPALS™ Ogren Plant Allergy Scale.
🌲︎ Conifer order Pinales
have 'naked' seeds — thus called
gymnosperm
— by:
- not enclosing its seeds with any ovary structure, and
- packaging their seeds in cones (a different type of female reproductive structure, apparently).
However, although
juniper genus Juniperus
and
yew family Taxaceae
are grouped with the 🌲︎ conifers above, these two subgroups violate both these rules, with seed cones that are fleshy and berry-like.