A cosy home for wildlife and a gin-drinker’s delight, the juniper is a much-loved evergreen that brightens up the winter months.
Common juniper is an evergreen conifer. Mature trees can reach a height of 10m and live for up to 200 years. Its bark is grey-brown and peels with age, and its twigs are reddish brown.
Look out for: needles that have a single pale band on the upper surface and are grey-green beneath. They are found in threes around the ridged twigs. The female cones look like blueberries.Identified in winter by: its needles which are present all year round. Twigs are ridged.
Juniper trees are a diverse group of conifers found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. With over 60 different species, junipers display incredible diversity in size shape color, and texture. From prostrate ground-hugging shrubs to towering evergreen trees, junipers adapt to varied environments from seashores to high mountain tops.
When identifying a juniper tree, images are invaluable resources. Photos allow you to examine the distinctive features of juniper foliage, bark, cones, and growth habit. This article explores juniper tree images to help you identify junipers growing in your landscape.
Examining Juniper Foliage in Pictures
The needle-like or scale-like leaves of juniper trees provide the first clues in identification Juniper foliage comes in shades of green, blue-green, gray-green, or blue-gray. The colors result from a whitish bloom or wax coating called glaucous that covers the scale-like leaves of some species.
Silvery blue junipers like the Blue Point Juniper (Juniperus chinensis ‘Blue Point’) showcase glaucous foliage. The lustrous aquamarine needles shimmer when backlit by the sun.
Green junipers lack glaucous coating on their foliage. The spreading branches of creeping junipers like the Bar Harbor Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Bar Harbor’) display vibrant green needle-like leaves.
Soft or sharp-tipped scale-like leaves give juniper foliage a smooth or prickly texture. For example, the blunt scales of Chinese Juniper (Juniperus chinensis) feel smooth compared to the sharp tips of One Seed Juniper (Juniperus monosperma).
Bark Patterns and Trunk Shapes in Images
Juniper bark ranges from stringy and shredding to blocky plates resembling reptile skin. The trunk and branches emerge in diverse shapes from low mounding shrubs to tall tapering trees.
Peeling cinnamon-red bark identifies Drooping Juniper (Juniperus flaccida). Fibrous gray-brown bark covers the trunks of the wide, irregularly-branched Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana).
A few junipers like Creeping Juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) rarely grow trunks. Instead, the branches spread out low along the ground. Meanwhile, columnar junipers such as Skyrocket Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Skyrocket’) shoot up in a narrow, upright column.
Identifying Juniper Cones in Pictures
The small, berry-like cones offer more clues for juniper identification. Also called galbuli, the fleshy juniper “berries” take 1-3 years to mature into rounded, oblong, or egg-shaped structures in shades of brown, purple, or blue.
The reddish-brown mature cones of California Juniper (Juniperus californica) resemble tiny crabapples. Female Common Junipers (Juniperus communis) produce dusty blue cones just 1/4 inch in diameter.
Cones grow on short, straight stalks or longer curved stems. Some species like Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) produce small protrusions called umbos on the cone tips. Others have a whitish bloom that appears glaucous.
Growth Habits in Juniper Tree Pictures
The overall growth habit shows whether a juniper forms a shrub, tree, or prostrate groundcover. Small prostrate varieties of Creeping Juniper hug the ground while Chinese Junipers can reach 60 feet tall.
Growth habit hints at preferred growing conditions. For instance, Creeping Junipers thrive in windy, cold sites. Shore Junipers (Juniperus conferta) inhabit beach dunes. Alligator Juniper and Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) survive arid deserts and baking sun.
Identifying Mature Juniper Trees in Images
Bushy juniper shrubs transform into picturesque juniper trees over time. Mature trees develop rugged, furrowed trunks and open crowns.
An old California Juniper growing on a rocky slope displays twisted trunks and branches weathered from years of harsh conditions. The broad pyramidal crown of an ancient Eastern Redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) spreads out to provide shade at maturity.
Finding Junipers Around the World in Pictures
Thanks to their adaptability, junipers grow on every continent except Antarctica and Australia. Images reflect the diverse settings where junipers thrive.
The juniper woodlands of the southwestern United States showcase the shaggy canopies of Alligator Juniper and drooping limbs of Weeping Juniper (Juniperus flaccida). Chinese Juniper shelters panda bears in China’s misty mountain forests.
From bonsai specimens to towering trees, juniper images reveal the versatility of these hardy conifers. Match images of foliage, fruit, bark, and form to identifying features to recognize the junipers growing in your own landscape.
Key Takeaways on Identifying Juniper Trees
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Examine the needle-like or scale-like foliage in shades of green, blue-green, or silvery blue.
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Note the peeling, stringy, or plated bark patterns and mounding, columnar, or spreading growth habits.
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Look for the rounded, oblong “berries” in brown, purple, or blue.
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Compare juniper images to growth habits and preferred growing conditions.
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Identify mature junipers by their rugged trunks and open, irregular crowns.
With the help of pictures, you can identify the many juniper species ranging from prostrate shrubs to towering trees that inhabit diverse environments around the world. Images of juniper tree foliage, bark, cones, and shape provide visual clues to recognize these adaptable evergreens.
What does juniper look like?
Credit: Nature Photographers Ltd / WTML
The small, needle-like leaves are green with broad silver bands on the inner side, curving slightly to a sharp, prickly point.
Credit: Blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo Reproductive organs
Common juniper is dioecious, meaning that male and female structures grow on separate trees. Male structures are small, yellow and globular, and grow in leaf axils near the tips of twigs.
Credit: Armands Pharyos / Alamy Stock Photo
Once pollinated by wind, the green female structures develop into fleshy, purple, aromatic, berry-like cones. These are eaten and distributed by birds. When young, the berries are green but over 18 months or so they mature to purple-black.
Trees woods and wildlife
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Burning juniper on Walpurgis Night is said to keep witches away.
Juniper Tree
FAQ
What is special about a juniper tree?
Juniper trees are special for their adaptability to harsh environments, unique physical characteristics, and various cultural and practical uses.
How do I identify a juniper tree?
Common juniper is an evergreen conifer. Mature trees can reach a height of 10m and live for up to 200 years. Its bark is grey-brown and peels with age, and its twigs are reddish brown. Look out for: needles that have a single pale band on the upper surface and are grey-green beneath.
What does the Bible say about a juniper tree?
Ministering Angels. And as he [Elijah] lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat (I Kings 19:5).
What’s the difference between a juniper tree and a juniper bush?
In many cases, juniper is a low-branching shrub with a rounded form, but some grow vertically into trees. The adult tree shape is often narrowly columnar, and may also be described by landscape professionals as “upright.” The shape of shrub junipers may be described as prostrate, weeping, creeping, and bushy.