J. DRUPACEA OR SYRIAN JUNIPER 193 



specimens from Sir E. Loder, grown at La Mortola 

 (S. France). The fruit is nearly round, of a browny- 

 purple colour, about twice the size of other Juniper 

 fruits, and nearly an inch in diameter. As in leaf 

 structure does the J. Oxycedrus look like an elongated 

 and thickened edition of the J. Communis, so does 

 the J. Drupacea appear by the side of the Oxycedrus. 

 On account of the fact that the seeds are coalescent 

 in the centre of the fruit this Juniper has been given 

 a group of his own called Caryocedrus. 



It must not be thought that in our story of the 

 Juniper, and in our comments on its leaf likeness 

 with certain Cypresses, we have inadvertently omitted 

 to mention the outstanding difference which places 

 it severely apart as far as tribal relationship goes, 

 namel}^, the different composition of its fruit. 

 We have referred to this at length in previous pages 

 upon the Cypress, and called attention to the fact 

 that, while the fruit of the Cypress is a ligneous, 

 variously shaped cone, that of the Juniper is a dark- 

 blue berry. 



Whittier, the American poet, bears witness to its 

 effect in an autumnal woodland scene, and tells us 

 in verse how an appearance of a tree in fruit impressed 

 his poetical senses : 



And on a ground of sombre fir 



And azure-studded juniper, 



The silver birch its buds of purple show. 



The drawback to this picture, as a means of identifica- 

 tion, is that Junipers do not invariably wear these 

 azure studs at the precise moment you are bringing 

 your discerning powers to bear upon the subject of 

 differentiation. Then it must be remembered that 

 Junipers are one of the few exceptions to conifer 

 customs in that they are often dioecious ; in other 

 words, that the tree is generally male or female, and 



