536 LXXVI. CONIFERS. [Juniperus. 



A dense, diffuse shrub, in Europe sometimes a small tree, procumbent 

 at great elevations. Foliage greyish green. Leaves spreading, in whorls 

 of three, linear, \- J in. long, pungent, narrowed at base, nearly flat and 

 bluish green above, light green, convex or obtusely keeled beneath, per- 

 sistent 3-4 years. Catkins axillary, supported at the base by small bracts ; 

 the male ovoid, yellow ; the antheriferous scales broad-ovate, acuminate ; 

 the female flowers small, resembling leaf-buds. Berries subglobose, on 

 short scaly stalks \-\ in. long, crowned at the apex with the tips of the 

 carpellary scales ; pulp sweet and resinous. Seeds generally 3. 



South side of Safedkoh at 9000 ft. North -West Himalaya, but not in the 

 innermost arid tract, abundant in places as far east as the Sutlej, less common 

 beyond it. Hills near the mouth of the Sindh valley, Kashmir, at 5400 ft. ; in 

 the Butna valley ascending to 11,000 ; in Lahoul to 12,500 ft.; in Kunawar be- 

 tween 9000 and 11,000 ft. ; to 14,000 ft. on the Bias and in Garhwal ; eastern- 

 most point entrance of the Bians valley in North-East Kamaon. Throughout 

 Europe to the North Cape. In Greenland, North Asia, also on the Caucasus and 

 on Mount Ararat. In North and Central Europe it is found both on the plains 

 and on mountains. On the Riviera, near Nice and Mentone, it goes down to 

 the coast, but farther south it is found on mountains only. Thus in Spain it 

 occurs (according to Willkomm) on the Guadarama mountains from 3500 to 

 6000 ft., in the Sierra Nevada from 6500 to 8000, and on Mount Athos in Mace- 

 donia (according to Grisebach) from 5200 to 6000 ft. Juniperus nana, Willd., 

 which many botanists consider as a variety merely of the common Juniper, 

 ascends even higher, and is found in the Alps and on the mountains of South 

 Europe, in the Alpine zone far beyond the forest belt. On the dry stony hills 

 of the Muschelkalk formation in North and Middle Germany the Juniper is 

 sometimes a useful nurse of plantations, and it often affords shelter in such 

 localities to self-sown seedlings of other trees. In East Prussia and the Baltic 

 provinces the Juniper is often gregarious, covering large extents of ground with 

 open brushwood ; and under partial shelter it becomes arborescent, extending 

 over large areas, associated with other trees (Willk. Forstl. Fl. 217). In the 

 North-West Himalaya the Juniper is chiefly found on high dry bleak slopes, 

 usually gregarious, sometimes mixed with J. recurva, often in patches form- 

 ing a belt above the upper limit of the forest. Fl. March, April ; the fruit 

 ripens in August and September of the second year. 



Generally an irregularly-shaped shrub with stiff branches, branchlets erect or 

 spreading, procumbent at high elevations. In the Himalaya it rarely attains more 

 than 6-7 ft. with a disproportionately thick stem, 18-24 in. girth. In Europe the 

 tree occasionally grows 30-40 ft. high with a girth of 4-5 ft. Bark whitish grey, 

 exfoliating in thin flakes, leaving the brown inner substance exposed. Sapwood 

 large, white ; heartwood brown, fine-grained, compact, the annual rings dis- 

 tinctly marked by a dark narrow line. Used for fuel, very acceptable on high 

 passes. The twigs are resinous and aromatic ; they are placed before the Deota 

 in temples, and, like the wood, are burnt as incense (dhup). The fruit is sweet, 

 aromatic, and very resinous. In Kamaon it is added to spirits distilled from 

 barley. (In North Germany the berries are largely collected and exported 

 to Holland for the manufacture of gin.) They are sold as medicine in the bazars 

 of North India under the name of Abhul, huber, administered in decoction as a 

 stimulant, diuretic, and emmenagogue. 



2. J. recurva, Ham. J DC. Prodr. xvi. ii. 481. Weeping Blue Juni- 

 per, Hook. Him. Journ. ii. 28. Vern. Wetyar, bettar, cliuch, thelu, telu, 





