This is the new section of our Mountain Resilience blog, affiliated with the InterMountain Alliance in the mountains of western Boulder County, CO, open to all interested Colorado Rocky Mountain dwellers, friends and others who want a place to read about and discuss mountain resilience matters.
Why Plant Resilience?
We’ll respond with another question: how can mountain dwellers be resilient without knowing anything about the plants that grow around us? To many of us today, they are a pretty background, like living wallpaper.
Our ancestors depended on them and knew the plants. Many of our plants are in use today, commercially, but most of us don’t know it. This Plant Resilience section of the Mountain Resilience blog is our attempt to remedy that: to help mountain dwellers and friends see the gifts they offer us. And to see the ways we might steward our land to help it be as resilient as possible in the face of today’s challenges and changes.
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What is Common Juniper?
You’ve seen those long, low prickly bushes that are such great hiding places for birds, chipmunks and hardy kids? That’s common juniper. Cold-weather plants, they grow all around the world in northern regions and at high altitudes in more southern latitudes, such as where we live here in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.Common juniper and its other conifer relatives grow strong and do well in tough conditions.
First we’ll look at common juniper’s role in its ecosystem – its community of plants, animals, soil, sun, rocks, wind, wildfire, weather and people. Then follows the sectionentitled “What Gifts – or Poisons – has Common Juniper been Giving Humans over the Past Several Thousand Years?” There we explore some of the many gifts it has given and continues to give humans throughout the past thousands of years: food, medicine and inspiration to be as hardy and persistent as the juniper itself. After that, we take a look at how to grow it. Finally, there’s a list of “Resources for Further Information” for further reading on common juniper.
What’s common juniper like in its natural community?
First, what family is common juniper in? What’s that family like?
It’s in the Cypress family. Cypresses are conifers, plants which bear cones and are evergreen. Their botanical name is Cupressaceae. This is the family of cedars and junipers, two groups which are sometimes confused with each other because some look a lot alike.
Luckily common juniper is easy to identify because in our area of the Colorado Rockies it is a shrub with prickly needles (touch some!). In other areas it can be a column-shaped tree. (What do you think – is it the fierce wind, scorching sun and/or scant moisture that keep it hugging the ground here?). Our common juniper does not have scaly, soft leaves. If you see a tree herewith scaly leaves that some might think is a cedar, that’s the Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum), a close cousin but not the plant we’re talking about here.
Where is the name Juniperus communis from? What Does it Mean?
There are different explanations; certainly it looks like Juniperus is from the Latin iuniperus, which became genevre in Old French and jenever in modern Dutch. From “gen” it’s a small hop to “gin,” whose main flavor is from the juniper “berry,” which is actually the female seed cone. Communis means commonly found.
2. J. communis is the most widespread of all conifers and “possibly the most widely distributed tree in the world.” (U.S. Forest Service) This is one woody plant to watch as the climate warms.
3. Throughout the Southwest, close relatives of Juniperus communis with many of the same ecosystem and human uses “have enjoyed a greater variety of Native American uses than any other group of wild plants.” (Dunmire and Tierney)
4. They are “among the most useful multi-purpose shrub species worldwide.” (Diana Beresford-Kroger)
Read on to learn more about these and other stand-out characteristics of common juniper.
Where can you find common juniper in the Southern Rockies?
We commonly find it under these trees: Douglas fir, subalpine fir, limber pine, Engelmann spruce, and blue spruce stands. We find it in many high-elevation spruce-fir forests in Colorado up to about 12,700 feet – but also lower down in woodlands and forest openings. It can even be found as low as 5500 feet, planted on the plains.
At treeline these shrubs are often around 8 inches tall and can be 7 feet long; at lower elevations they can get 2-4 feet high.
Isn’t common juniper a fire hazard?
Indeed. The needles are full of resin (sticky substance containing oils), which greatly increases the flammability of these dry bushes, along with their shaggy bark, which is itself perfect tinder (fire-starter), and the wood itself, which also contains some essential oils.
How badly common juniper is damaged depends on how intense the fire is. The species is classified as “susceptible to fire” in the Fire Effects Information System (FEIS), which states the shrubs are generally killed or severely damaged by fire.
That was certainly the case here in Colorado. Before the Four Mile Fire in Boulder County in 2010, several large colonies up to twenty feet in diameter grew on land owned by Debby and Charlie Martin. They live on the eastern flanks of Sugarloaf Mountain in Boulder County. The fire was particularly intense in the areas where the common junipers were growing because of the inherent flammability of the species and the accumulation of juniper needles and other debris under the canopy. After the fire, none of the juniper colonies survived and none of the plants have re-sprouted.
Chris Wanner, the City of Boulder’s vegetation stewardship senior manager, is quoted as saying: “The ground juniper is a really common landscaping species ... It covers the ground and grows real quick. But it is probably one of the worst things you can have up against your house in a wildland-urban interface.” In their brochure, Living with Fire, the Colorado State Forest Service suggests planting juniper shrubs 30 or more feet from your home foundations and even farther away from structures, depending on the slope of your land.
Are common junipers invasive?
Not in our area! In Britain, particularly England and the Scottish Highlands, it is a plant of conservation concern. (Trees for Life). In some areas, such as eastern Oregon, juniper is now an invasive species because as the land heats up, it has been able to survive droughts that have killed other conifers in the sagebrush ecosystem. Western juniper (Juniper occidentalis) is the main culprit there, but common juniper is often implicated as well. A recent scientific article in Scientific Reports describes the invasive potential of common juniper in the Andean regions of Patagonia.
How does Juniperus communis survive in our arid climate?
First, look at the leaves. The needles are its leaves. They are covered with a protective waxy coating, resin (see above); it’s a really good raincoat –and sun shade – for each needle.
Juniper loves sun. But like all of us, it has limits, it can get too much. As a sun shade, the resin raincoat keeps too much harsh sun from getting into the needles. This protects the plant from over-heating and drying out. As we can see here in our area, it can survive just fine in some shade as well.
When it rains, the needle slurps up water; like the rest of us, it can only live if it has some water. It doesn’t need as much as other plants because it wears this resin raincoat which holds the water in the plant, keeping it safely stored. So our juniper can live in very hot, dry places and still be just fine. The needle and the rest of the plant uses this stored water carefully. When the plant has drunk enough and the needle is full, the resin raincoat sheds the extra water into the soil below. When the grades 3-5 students at the Gold Hill School in the Boulder County mountains tested the soil in various places on campus, they found it was wettest under the common junipers as compared to other places (some vegetated, some not.)
This juniper hugs the ground, shading the soil, keeping it from baking hard in the sun. (If the soil becomes hard as pavement, water falling on it runs right off and is lost. When the soil is cool that means it’s still healthy; it can absorb and hold all that precious water when rain comes.)
Our common juniper also has strong roots: a deep taproot and many wide side roots that can reach deeper underground water. They survive well on harsh, rocky, open sites.
The Duke University study explains another big reason junipers, including common juniper, are so drought-hardy: they don’t form little air bubbles in the tissues which transport water all over the plant (xylem). The bubbles formed in other plants impede the flow of water and the plant dries out. Why do they form? When it gets really hot; the water-conducting tubes stretch thin and break, allowing bubbles to form. Junipers make extra tough xylem tubes which are resistant to bubble formation.
Can you find the pollen-giving male cones and the pollen-receiving female cones?
The male and female cones are on separate plants. Gohere for good pix. The pollen-giving cones are yellow. Look from around April through June. The matchmaker? It’s the wind, when the cones are in their second year of life. No problem in our windy area.
After poofing out the pollen, the male cones fall to the ground where they decompose. The pollen-receiving cones (females) look like berries, so we call them berries. They are green at first, then blue-black, with 3 - 6 seeds inside. No need rushing to harvest; they are ready around the ripe old age of two to three years.
What animals does common juniper shelter and feed?
Rodents and songbirds really go for the cones. They are the favorite food of the Colorado chipmunk and an important food of the rock squirrel and Mexican wood rat, who hang out in rocky habitats in the foothills and montane. (Native Plant Master Manual for Boulder and Larimer Counties) Deer and mountain goats will eat it as a starvation food in the winter. (Who likes a mouthful of resiny prickles?)
Small animals and birds also shelter among the prickly branches as well as eat the berries. The Siva Juniper Hairstreak Butterfly depends on the juniper as a host plant, protected within the shaggy juniper bark. The host plant is a nursery plant, where the caterpillar eats and grows into a young adult butterfly. The adult butterfly eats other plants, but lays its eggs in Juniper and the cycle repeats.
Check out these beautiful photos from Colorado Front Range Butterflies.How can you see one in person? If you brush against the branches of common juniper, you might accidentally dislodge one of these butterflies from its resting place; it might startle you as it flies up.
But try as you might, they are not likely to grow if you plant them. Why not? She continues, “The seeds of all the junipers have minds of their own.” Their seed coats are hard and it’s ridiculously difficult to get them to open so the seed can grow. They have certain chemicals in them which stop the seed from germinating. Gardeners have many tricks to get around this, but they don’t work with common juniper berries.
If we humans can’t grow them, who can? Kroger continues: “They are matched perfectly to the intestinal flora of the large birds that eat [the berries]. The seeds … go [right] through the digestive tract of a raven or large game bird and come out smiling in the acid-rich [poop] and pop up…. It would appear that the big birds need the juniper … just as much as the juniper needs the birds.”
What Gifts – or Poisons – has Common Juniper been Giving Humans over the Past Several Thousand Years?
Common Juniper’s Wood – what’s so uncommon about it?
Traditionally, common juniper’s branches and twigs are filled with decay-resistant chemicals that repel many kinds of insects. It is still burned as an insect repellant.
Juniper wood, with its natural essential oil, can protect clothes from wool-eating moths, just as cedar does in cedar chests – which makes sense, as juniper and cedar are closely related.
Juniper wood has also been used commercially in oils, fragrances and aromatherapy.Writes John Wyatt, who lived in and off wild land in England: “‘I … became a connoisseur of wood smoke. For fragrance, in my opinion, there is little to match juniper; I would stack the wood aside against the days I had visitors.’” (quoted in naturalist Richard Mabey’s Plantcraft.)
Slow growing and small, common juniper’s wood is too small for building. But its wood is prized for being dense, tough and fine-grained, with beautiful twisty grain patterns. It has been used traditionally to make long-lasting items such as piano hammers, drinking cups, small containers, and knife handles. See this website on knife-making to learn why they say, “Juniperus communis is an ideal wood for kitchen knives.”
In the Scottish Highlands, common juniper had an important use as fuel for illicit stills hidden in mountain glens. Although it is a good source of heat, it was chosen as fuel because it gives off minimal smoke and thus would help avoid attracting the attention of the local tax man. (Trees for Life)
How is Common Juniper used inFood?
For the past millennia (cf. ancient Egypt 2500 BCE), Juniper has been used mostly as a spice and flavoring. (National Geographic: Edible)
Juniper berries are most often used dried. They can be added whole to dishes, then taken out before eating, but more often they are crushed and ground to release their flavor. They have been used like black pepper to flavor meat, especially wild game, whether roasted or in hearty soups, sauces, wine marinades, a smoky rub (combined with coriander), stews, stuffing, sauerkraut, pates, pickled foods or tea. Around six berries per pound of meat is recommended. “They even go well with fruit tarts and compotes.” (National Geographic: Herbs & Spices.)
Julia Georgallis, author of How to Eat Your Christmas Tree says that to her, juniper berries “have a peppery, floral taste … immensely adaptable and works well with everything from salty, meaty dishes to sharp, fruity flavours.” Her juniper berry recipes include cherry & juniper jam, chicken liver & sloe gin pate, plum and juniper crumble.
The berries are also used to flavor other alcoholic beverages in addition to gin; there are traditional home brews made in various countries. In France, “genevrette” is said to be made with equal amounts of juniper berries and barley. In medieval times the berries were used in Scotland to flavor whisky … for its medical benefits, of course. A Bosnian fermented drink from juniper berries is called Smreka. Why do these berries ferment so well? Their skins are covered with white yeasty fungi. (Julia Georgiallis).
New Mexico researchers Dunmire and Tierney write that “the berries have been regularly eaten… and …the Navajo use water laced with ashes from burned juniper branches to make blue cornbread.”
Richard Mabey writes that “juniper, particularly … is often added [to fire or coals ] to give a winey tang to smoked salmon.”
Adding a small amount of juniper berry extract or essential oil to commercial chicken broiler or quail diets has resulted in increased growth, improved the quality of the meat and increased its shelf life. It is said to have improved the quality of pork sausage as well. Juniper has shown itself to be a useful natural antioxidant in the food industry, able to replace widely-used synthetic antioxidants. (Potential of Juniperus communis L as a nutraceutical in human and veterinary medicine)
What are the health benefits of Juniperus communis?
Mostly the berries are used, but the gifts of the shaggy bark, branches, and needles are also pressed into service. When not specified, the part used is usually the berry. If you are considering it for personal use, it’s important to follow the advice of a qualified health practitioner.
Respiratory anti-inflammatory and antiviral, good for skin and lungs. The scientist Diana Beresford-Kroger says the “resin and its various acids gas off on warm summer days and get added as aerosols into the local airways. These health-giving shrubs … help those suffering from allergies and asthma or other breathing problems.” The shaggy bark is also used to treat these conditions.
Cleansing the indoor air of infection and disease – Juniper has been used indoors as a strewing herb, scattered on the floor to purify the indoor air, mitigating colds and chest infections and disease. Its branches and needles were/are burned and the aromatic smoke used for the same purpose. In the same way, households in many cultures boiled juniper berries in water for the vapors. Aromatherapy researcher Gabriel Mojay writes: “During the 19th century, the berries were burnt in French hospitals to prevent the spread of smallpox.”
Tuberculosis in adults and young children – Juniper-based medications are traditional for this as well as for hypersensitivity of the airways and gut, per Dr. Jill Stansbury in her Herbal Formularies for Health Professionals Vols. 1-4.
Antimicrobial – Dr. Stansbury writes, “ Due to antimicrobial effects, juniper essential oil can be included in inhalant steams for those with pneumonia or as a preventive in those with cardiopulmonary weakness at the onset of simple colds. Juniper oil inhalants have been shown to deter the establishment of biofilms, as well as to penetrate antimicrobial-resistant respiratory biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.” [bold added].
Skin diseases and conditions – Juniper needles and/or the shaggy bark were dried, powdered, and used as a dusting on the skin for skin diseases, to reduce swelling and irritation, including itchy, dry skin or rashes. (Stansbury)
Skin and hair health – Juniper is used in commercial cosmetics, hair conditioners and fragrances. Its essential oil is also used for skin conditions such as dandruff, acne, weeping eczema and psoriasis. Its cold-pressed oil is also used in fragrance blending and aromatherapy.
Antibacterial – “Juniperus communis’ activity against mycobacteria, including drug-resistant strains, has been confirmed.” (Stansbury.) Juniper has been shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria associated with triggering autoimmune inflammatory diseases like rheumatic arthritis and some others. The berries and the shaggy bark are used.
Relief from sore, inflamed gums – People across the ages are also said to have chewed the berries for relief from sore, inflamed gums (thanks to their antiseptic and anti-inflammatory actions).
Urinary and kidney systems infections and functions – Juniper has been and is used today to treat inflammation and acute and chronic systemic infection in the urinary system such as cystitis, leucorrhoea, catarrh of the bladder or too much albumin in the urine (a sign of decreased kidney function). It has also been used to address kidney malfunction, damage, or reduced function. It increases urine output and sweating and reduces flatulence and eases hemorrhoids. Electrolytes are retained even with increased urine output.
Childhood nephritic (kidney) syndrome – Can be treated using the shaggy bark.
Lack of tone in the genitourinary and renal systems: Dr. Jill Stansbury in Herbal Formularies for Health Professionalswrites (Vol 3 Vol 4): “Juniper berries are … a urinary stimulant and counter-irritant for cases of atony in the renal system … Include juniper berries in teas or small amounts of tincture in tonic formulas for women who begin to suffer from acute painful UTIs postmenopause…” She continues: “ Juniper is contraindicated for acute inflammatory disorders of the urinary system. Juniper is specific for thick urine with mucous threads and secretions and should be used in small doses only. It is most appropriate for cold, underfunctioning, atonic conditions in diabetics with poor circulation, atony of the tissues, and a tendency to chronic urinary tract infections.” (Dr. Jill Stansbury)
Gonorrhea, diabetes, when a bladder infection spreads to the kidneys, and other bladder issues – It is said that these have effectively been treated by the shaggy bark.
Hypoglycemia – Recent experimental studies have shown that the berries are effective.
Gout –The berries have traditionally been used.
Edema in the kidney area – The shaggy bark has traditionally been used.
Stomach and intestinal disorders – The berries have been used for millenia for these.
Low blood cholesterol – Recent experimental studies have shown that the berries are effective in lowering it.
Apoptosis (promoting desired cell death as in cancer or venomous toxin such as that of rattlesnakes.) Recent experimental studies have shown that the berries can stop the proliferation of cells in breast cancer and colorectal cancer, leukemia and also neuroblastoma, which most commonly arises aroundthe adrenal glands.
Protecting the liver and neuron structure and function – The essential oils and extracts of juniper have been experimentally documented to do this.
Parkinsons, Alzheimer’s and other chronic neurological disorders –Studies have indicated juniper extract is a possible treatment due to its strong antioxidant activity.
Worry and general debilitation – The essential oilextracted from ripe, dried berries is considered an uplifting antidote.
Childbirth and abortifacient – It can be taken to speed up labor and stop bleeding.
Prevention and treatment of the Plague – Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Arabs (Europe and Asia) used juniper to treat sufferers. During the Black Plague in Medieval Europe, medical care personnel were said to have held a few berries in the mouth to avoid infection. In North America during cholera epidemics, some people drank juniper tea and bathed in it to prevent or treat infection.
Disinfecting (Sterilizing) Medical Instruments – During the Black Plague in Medieval Europe, medical care personnel made a strong juniper tea and dunked their medical needles and bandages in it to sterilize them.
Snakebite – Juniper was used to cure this in ancient Greeks, Romans, and Arabs
Tapeworm – From a papyrus dated to 1550 BCE, we have learned that ancient Egyptians used common juniper to treat this.
Typhoid Fever and Cholera – People across Europe and Asia used this plant to treat sufferers.
(For more information from resources used in this section see the Resources for Further Information below. Under books: Beresford-Kroeger, Kershaw, Mojay, Mars, National Geographic – Medicinal Herbs, Stansbury, Wiles. Under articles: A Phytopharmacological Review, Cold-pressed Juniper, Juniper communis in Science Direct, Juniper communis in Europe, Potential of Juniper communis as a nutraceutical)
But is it Toxic?
Juniperus communis is a potent plant. All parts and products made from it have strong, pinene-based volatile oils that could irritate. It is considered safe for most adults with the following caveats: when taken orally in small amounts for a short time, in formulas in which juniper is a complementary, not a leading herb, when inhaled as a smoke from a campfire, or when first diluted before being applied to skin in small areas. Juniper essential oil is safe when diluted in an oil to be used for massage or in a diffuser or as a synergist in cosmetic formulas. However, it must be diluted. Follow the advice of your knowledgeable health care provider, especially if you have underlying kidney or bladder issues.
If this advice is not followed and juniper is taken for a long time or in high doses the following can occur: irritation of nasal passages, kidney, gut, or intestines resulting in kidney or stomach aches, diarrhea, blood or/and albumin in the urine, or increased heart rate. Skin sensitivity to undiluted oil could result in irritation, blisters, dermatitis. Blood pressure control could become challenging, blood sugar level could dip to lows dangerous for people with diabetes mellitus.
Juniper must not be used during pregnancy; it has been used traditionally to speed labor.
For information on the pharmacology of Juniperus communis, start here.
How do you Grow It?
Different growers say it can grow on acidic, sandy, or calcareous soils, favoring free-draining soils and rocky outcrops. It grows in harsh environments and is drought and cold tolerant. It likes sun but can grow in some shade. It can spread up to 7 feet or more; it likes the open but also grows in forests.
The Dorns, experts in native plant growing, say common juniper “can be grown from stem cuttings with a short strip of bark free at the base; small plants can be transplanted; seed needs 60 to 90 days of warm stratification followed by 90 days of cold stratification (USDA); surface sow to allow light exposure.”
For more on propagation by cuttings, seeds, grafting or layering, go here.
Conclusion
Plant and human physiology specialist Diana Beresford-Kroger says common juniper should be in all gardens. We say, as long as they are a reliably safe distance from the house, 30 feet or more. See Living with fire, a guide for the Homeowner. In Boulder County, contact Wildfire Partners. Common in the wild right now, it is truly an ancient plant with gifts for the future of land and people – as long as the bare rocky outcroppings it likes can protect it well from wildfire.
Thanks to Dr. Debby Martin and Dr. Ota Lutz for editing.
Colorado State Extension Native Plant Master Manual Boulder and Larimer Counties (manual available to certified Native Plant Masters in those counties)
This is a great read! Very comprehensive. Thanks for discussing all of the many benefits of juniper and the high flammability of the plant. Keep it away from your home!
This is a great read! Very comprehensive. Thanks for discussing all of the many benefits of juniper and the high flammability of the plant. Keep it away from your home!