A catalog of Native North American Plants: Juniperus virginiana

Juniperus virginiana

Common name: Red cedar, Eastern redcedar, Virginian juniper, Eastern juniper, Red juniper, Pencil cedar, and Aromatic cedar.

Red cedar is a species of juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and east of the Great Plains.

It is a dense slow-growing coniferous evergreen tree. The bark is reddish-brown, fibrous, and peels off in narrow strips. The leaves are of two types; sharp, spreading needle-like juvenile leaves and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves that are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or occasionally whorls of three. The seed cones are ¹⁄₈–¹⁄₄ in long, and can contain one to three seeds.  The juniper berry is an important winter food for many birds. Juniper has many uses, making cedar chest, pencils and oils are a few to name.

 Dye color: Black, Brown, Green, Red, Orange, Yellow