Common Trees of the North Carolina Piedmont

Stephen M. Seiberling, Alan S. Weakley, and Peter S. White


Juniperus virginiana L. Eastern red-cedar, coastal red-cedar, red-cedar, southern red-cedar. Synonyms Sabina virginiana (L.) Antoine. Family Cupressaceae. ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number 18048. USDA PLANTS Symbol JUVI. TROPICOS # 09400157.

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. • Herbarium sheet 1. • Herbarium sheet 3. • Herbarium sheet 6. • Herbarium sheet 7.

Detailed Description:

Plant habit and life style. Plants Gymnosperms, monoecious or dioecious, shrub or tree, (2–)10–20(–37) m tall.

Stems. Pith absent. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) green or reddish-brown, 0.75–1 mm wide, glabrous. Twigs (2–4 years old) glabrous, scaly. Leaf scars absent, bundle scars absent, stipule scars absent. Bark of mature trunks exfoliating or shreddy.

Buds. Buds axillary or terminal, green, 0.1–0.5 mm long.

Leaves. Leaves evergreen, needle-like or scale-like, simple, sessile, opposite or whorled or decussate, four-ranked or imbricate, spreading or ascending or appressed, needles solitary, 0.1–1 cm long, 0.05–0.15 cm wide, awl-shaped or lanceolate or oval or ovate or rhombic, leaf margins entire, leaf apices acuminate or acute or obtuse, leaf bases decurrent or sheathing, leaf cross section two-angled or three-angled, keeled below. Leaf upper surface blue-green or brown or green or reddish-brown or yellow-green, glabrous. Leaf lower surface blue-green or brown or green or reddish-brown or yellow-green, glabrous. Stipules absent.

Cones. Pollen cones shedding pollen January or February or March, (0.25–)0.3–0.4(–0.6) cm long. Seed cone maturation 1 years. Seed cones remaining closed, terminal, sessile, nearly symmetric or symmetric, before opening globose or ovoid, 0.3–0.6(–0.7) cm long, immature seed cones green, mature seed cones blue or violet. Seed cone scales fleshy.

Habitat. Habitat disturbed and weedy areas or dry-mesic upland forests or mesic upland forests or mixed forest edges or prairies or rock outcrops or suburban plantings.

Special Diagnostic Characters. Seed cones fleshy and berry-like.


Cite this publication as: ‘Stephen M. Seiberling, Alan S. Weakley, and Peter S. White (2005 onwards). Common Trees of the North Carolina Piedmont: Identification, Descriptions, Illustrations, and Glossary. Version: March 7, 2006. <http://www.ibiblio.org/openkey/intkey/>’.

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