Common Juniper

Juniperus communis var. depressa

Common Juniper (Juniperus communis var. depressa) is a low, prickly, native evergreen shrub that spreads in wide, flat-topped mounds under the ponderosa pines across the Black Hills. It has no flowers: tiny cones shed pollen in spring, and the blue "berries" take two to three years to ripen, so one plant can carry green and blue berries at once.

Free photos from other sources

Common Juniper: Wide, flat-topped shrub spreading over pine-needle litter — Juniperus communis var. depressa. John Brew, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Common Juniper: Low, continuous layer of juniper under ponderosa pines — Juniperus communis var. depressa. Tom Norton, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Common Juniper: Sharp needles in threes, each with a white stripe on the inner face — Juniperus communis var. depressa. Eric Schmidt, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Common Juniper: Ripe dusky blue berries among the needles — Juniperus communis var. depressa. Asher P Higgins, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Common Juniper: Hard green first-year berries among sharp needles — Juniperus communis var. depressa. Brian Dickerson, CC0 1.0. Get it at the source

Common Juniper: Pale blue, waxy berries along one stem — Juniperus communis var. depressa. Tom Norton, CC BY 4.0, resized. Get it at the source

Quick facts
Family	Cupressaceae · Cypress
Status	Native shrub
Blooms	Pollen about May into June; berries ripen in the second year
Height	30–100 cm (1–3 ft)
Where	Under ponderosa pine and spruce, on rocky slopes, ridges and canyon sides
Also called	Dwarf Juniper, Ground Juniper, Prostrate Juniper, ȟaŋté šá (Lakota)
Synonym	Juniperus communis subsp. depressa, Juniperus depressa, Juniperus canadensis
Toxicity	The foliage may be poisonous to domestic goats.
Traditional use	Sitting Bull College's 1998 Culturally Important Plants of the Lakota gives one entry for red cedar and common juniper together: the leaves were burned in ceremony, especially against fear of thunder, smoke from burning twigs was breathed in for head congestion, and a tea of the berry-like cones and leaves was taken for coughs.

Roots, seeds & germination

Root: A woody, branching root system; USDA gives a minimum rooting depth of about 36 cm (14 in). It doesn't sprout back from the roots once the top is killed, which is why fire wipes it out, but low branches buried in litter can root and widen the mat.

Seed: Each berry holds 1–3 hard brown seeds and stays on the plant for at least two years. Birds spread most of them, including robins, waxwings, chickadees and wild turkeys. Up to 60% of seeds can be empty.

Germination: Slow and difficult: the seed needs a warm, moist spell followed by a cold one, and without that only about 1% sprout. One protocol gives 60 days warm and 90 days cold stratification, and sowing fresh seed outdoors in fall gives it both naturally. Cuttings are easier to root.

How do you identify Common Juniper?

Look for a knee-high, many-stemmed mound with no trunk, often wider than a car. It has only needles, never scales: stiff, sharp and 0.6–1.5 cm (¼–⅝ in) long, sticking out from the twig in threes, each with one broad white stripe down its inner face. The round berries, 6–9 mm (¼–⅓ in), grow only on female plants, hard and green the first year and dusky blue-black with a whitish bloom when ripe. Rocky Mountain Juniper is an upright tree with tiny scale leaves pressed flat to the twig, and Creeping Juniper hugs bare rock in full sun with flat, overlapping scales.

When does it bloom?

Pollen about May into June; berries ripen in the second year.

Where does it grow?

Gentle to steep slopes, rocky ridges, cliff edges and canyon sides, from dry ponderosa pine country up into spruce stands, in sun or fairly heavy shade, at about 1,070–2,070 m (3,500–6,800 ft). The Forest Service's Black Hills classification names a ponderosa pine/common juniper habitat type, widespread on the Limestone Plateau of the western Hills. The 1986 Jewel Cave plant survey lists it, it is on the Wind Cave, Mount Rushmore and Devils Tower species lists, and about 115 herbarium specimens come from all seven Black Hills counties.