
Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft of 1 January 1997 -- Gymnosperms Alan S. Weakley.
Copyright - Alan S. Weakley, 1998, 1999. All Rights Reserved.
References: Adams in FNA (1993); Adams (1986); Adams & Demeke (1993).
1. Juniperus communis Linnaeus var. depressa Pursh, Ground Juniper, Mountain Juniper, Common Juniper. Mt (NC, SC, VA), Pd (NC, VA), Cp (SC, VA): in thin soil around rock outcrops on mountain summits and Piedmont monadnocks, high elevation old fields (in VA), xeric Coastal plain sandhills (in SC and VA); rare (NC Candidate, SC Rare List, VA Rare List). March-April; fruit maturing in second or third year. This species is circumpolar, widespread in n. North America, n. Europe, and n. Asia. In North America it is primarily northern and montane, occurring nearly throughout Canada and AK, south in the Appalachians to n. GA, south in the Rocky Mountains to NM, AZ, and CA. Its berry is the juniper berry used as a spice, as well as the main flavoring of gin. It is sometimes planted as a landscaping plant. In e. North America, it is rare and scattered south of PA, MI, and WI, ranging south to a few disjunct sites in VA, NC, SC, GA, and s. IN. As a native species, it is very rare in the Southeast; in NC known only from a few sites, notably Mount Satulah (Macon County) and King's Pinnacle (Gaston County). In SC, a notable population occurs in sandy soils in Aiken County (Hitchcock Woods). Definitely in our area is var. depressa, a decumbent shrub, up to about 1 meter high, forming large clonal patches. Harvill et al. (1992) report scattered sites for var. communis in montane VA; these are based on columnar trees. Adams in FNA (1993) considers var. depressa to be the only variety occurring in e. United States, and states that var. depressa sometimes forms columnar trees to 10 m tall; such individuals may be the basis of reports of var. communis from our area. Additional problems about the status of Juniperus communis in our area remain unresolved; variation in growth form, morphologic characters, and habitat suggest the possibility of the presence of several native taxa. See Coker & Totten (1945) for additional discussion. [= RAB, C, F, FNA, G, K, W; J. sibirica Burgsdorff -- S]
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2a. Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus var. silicicola (Small) J. Silba, Southern Red Cedar, Coastal Red Cedar. Cp (NC, SC): maritime forests and scrub, hammocks, brackish marshes, and other sandy, circumneutral situations; uncommon. January-February; October-November. Var. silicicola ranges from e. NC south to s. FL, and possibly west to MS. Many recent authors have treated this taxon as a species, but Adams (1986) and Adams in FNA (1993) consider varietal status more appropriate. The two varieties intergrade in GA. [= FNA, K; Juniperus silicicola (Small) Bailey -- RAB; Sabina silicicola Small -- S; J. virginiana ssp. silicicola (Small) E. Murray]
2b. Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus var. virginiana, Eastern Red Cedar. Pd, Mt, Cp (NC, SC, VA): in a wide variety of forests, pastures, old fields, roadsides, and fencerows, primarily upland, occurring most abundantly on on circumneutral soils (including shrink-swell clays), derived from mafic or calcareous rocks; common (especially in the Piedmont). January-March; October-November. Var. virginiana ranges throughout e. United States. The wood is much used for fenceposts and the traditional southern cedar chest (which takes advantage of the moth-deterrent properties of cedar wood). [= C, F, FNA, G, K; J. virginiana -- RAB, W; Sabina virginiana (Linnaeus) Antoine -- S]
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Various species of Juniperus, especially creeping species, are frequently used in landscaping. Molecular studies suggest that section Juniperus (J. communis var. depressa in our area) and section Sabina (J. virginiana in our area) are quite divergent (Adams & Demeke 1993). Small's (1933) recognition of the genus Sabina may prove to be warranted.