COMMON JUNIPER. 167 



wood is used where great durability in contact with the soil is 

 required, for interior finishing 1 , cabinet making 1 and for lining 1 

 chests and closets in which woolens are preserved ag-ainst the 

 attacks of moths. It is almost the only wood used in the 

 manufacture of lead pencils and is the most highly esteemed 

 of any wood for the manufacture of pails, tubs, etc. A de- 

 coction of the fruit and leaves is occasionally usedrnedicinally 

 and an infusion of the berries as a diuretic and in homeopathic 

 remedies. Oil of Red Cedar is distilled from the leaves and 

 wood and is used principally in perfumery. 



Juniperus communis. Common Juniper. Dwarf or 



Trailing 1 Juniper. 



Leaves in whorls of 3, pointed at the base, linear, lanceo- 

 late, pointed, dark green on the lower side, channelled and 

 giaucous white on the upper side, one-third to one half inch 

 long 1 , spreading at nearly right angles to the branches, have 

 a strong unpleasant slightly astringent taste, during winter 

 turn to a rich bronze color on the lower surface and remain on 

 tree for five or six years. Flowers open late in spring. Fruit 

 during the first year does not enlarge, but resembles the 

 flower bud and does not ripen until the autumn of the third 

 season when it becomes fleshy and berry-like. Sometimes a 

 low crooked tree but in our range and commonly elsewhere in 

 the United States a low spreading shrub often forming dense 

 mats three or four feet high. In sourthern Illinois it fre- 





Fig. 35. Common Juniper. 



quently attains a height of 2,5 feet and forms trunks 8 to 10 

 inches in diameter. The foliage of the tree form is smaller 

 than that of the dwarf. 



Distribution. The common Juniper is the most widely dis- 

 tributed tree of the northern hemisphere. In North America 

 it ranges from Labrador and Greenland to Pennsylvania on 



