Juniperus
virginiana Linnaeus
Common
names: eastern red cedar, cedre rouge, coastal red-cedar, red-cedar,
southern red-cedar.
Synonyms: Juniperus barbadensis C. Mohr non Linnaeus,
Juniperus lucayana auct. non Britton, Juniperus silicicola
(Small) Bailey, Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus ssp. crebra
(Fernald & Griscom), E. Murray, Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus
ssp. silicicola (Small) E. Murray,
Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus ssp. silicicola (Small)
J. Silba, Juniperus
virginiana Linnaeus var. crebra Fernald & Griscom,
Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola (Small) E. Murray,
Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus var. silicicola (Small)
J. Silba, Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus var. virginiana,
Sabina silicicola Small, Sabina virginiana (Linnaeus)
Antoine.
Family: Cupressaceae.
Brief
description:
Eastern red cedar is a tree of field edges, fence rows, roadsides,
and woods. It's scale-like evergreen leaves (prickly to the touch)
and narrow upright form give it a distinctive appearance. Like all
Junipers, the eastern red cedar is a gymnosperm and the reproductive
structure is a "cone" rather than a true flower--only in
this case the female cones develop to round fleshy light gray structure
that is related to a pine cone (though very different than a pine
cone in appearance) and is often called a "juniper berry".
The fleshy cones contain the seeds and are eaten by a wide variety
of birds. Perhaps because it is green all year, it is often planted
in graveyards. The wood is fragrant and enduring--one common use was
for cedar chests.
USDA
Profile
Herbarium
sheet images:
Live
specimen images:
• Branchlet
with scale-like leaves and seed cones • Branchlet
with scale-like leaves (alternative form) • Branchlet
with needle-like leaves • Close-up
of scale-like leaves and seed cones •