Eastern red cedar

Description:

Juniperus virginiana is a dense slow-growing tree that may never become more than a bush on poor soil, but is ordinarily from16–66 ft (rarely to 89 ft) tall, with a short trunk 12–39 in diameter. The oldest tree reported, from Missouri, was 795 years old. The bark is reddish-brown, fibrous, and peels off in narrow strips. The leaves are of two types; sharp, spreading needle-like juvenile leaves 2.0–4 in long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves 0.079–0.16 in long; they are arranged in opposite decussate pairs or occasionally whorls of three. The juvenile leaves are found on young plants up to 3 years old, and as scattered shoots on adult trees, usually in shade. The seed cones are berry-like with fleshy scales, dark purple-blue with a white wax cover giving an overall sky-blue color (though the wax often rubs off); they contain one or two seeds, and are mature in 6–8 months from pollination. They are an important winter food for many birds, which disperse the wingless seeds. The trees are usually dioecious, with pollen and seed cones on separate trees.

Habitat:

Long Hunter State Park, Tennessee.

Notes:

This cedar was growing on the shore of the lake where it had anchored itself onto the rocks where there appeared to be very little soil.