Index    Handbook of the Trees of New England by Lorin Low Dame, Henry Brooks

Juniperus Virginiana, L. Red Cedar. Cedar. Savin.

Habitat and Range.—Dry, rocky hills but not at great altitudes, borders of lakes and streams, sterile plains, peaty swamps.

Maine,—rare, though it extends northward to the middle Kennebec valley, reduced almost to a shrub; New Hampshire,—most frequent in the southeast part of the state; sparingly in the Connecticut valley as far north as Haverhill (Grafton county); found also in Hart's location in the White mountain region; Vermont,—not abundant; occurs here and there on hills at levels less than 1000 feet; frequent in the Champlain and lower Connecticut valleys; Massachusetts,—west and center occasional, eastward common; Rhode Island and Connecticut,—common.

Habit.—A medium-sized tree, 25-40 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 8-20 inches, attaining much greater dimensions southward; extremely variable in outline; the lower branches usually nearly horizontal, the upper ascending; head when young very regular, narrow-based, close and conical; in old trees frequently rather open, wide-spreading, ragged, roundish or flattened. In very exposed situations, especially along the seacoast, the trunk sometimes rises a foot or two and then develops horizontally, forming a curiously contorted lateral head. Under such conditions it occasionally becomes a dwarf tree 2-3 feet high, with wide-spreading branches and a very dense dome; spray close, foliage a sombre green, sometimes tinged with a rusty brownish-red; wood pale red, aromatic.

Bark.—Bark of trunk light reddish-brown, fibrous, shredding off, now and then, in long strips, exposing the smooth brown inner bark; season's shoots green.

Winter Buds and Leaves.—Leaf-buds naked, minute. Leaves dull green or brownish-red, of two kinds:

1. Scale-like, mostly opposite, each pair overlapping the pair above, 4-ranked, ovate, acute, sometimes bristle-tipped, more or less convex, obscurely glandular.

2. Scattered, not overlapping, narrowly lanceolate or needle-shaped, sharp-pointed, spreading. The second form is more common in young trees, sometimes comprising all the foliage, but is often found on trees of all ages, sometimes aggregated in dense masses.

Inflorescence.—Early May. Flowers terminating short branches, sterile and fertile, more commonly on separate trees, often on the same tree; anthers in opposite pairs; ovuliferous scales in opposite pairs, slightly spreading, acute or obtuse; ovules 1-4.

Fruit.—Berry-like from the coalescence of the fleshy cone-scales, the extremities of which are often visible, roundish, the size of a small pea, dark blue beneath a whitish bloom, 1-4-seeded.

Horticultural Value.—Hardy throughout New England; prefers sunny slopes and a loamy soil, but grows well in poor, thin soils and upon wind-swept sites; young plants increase in height 1-2 feet yearly and have a very formal, symmetrical outline; old trees often become irregular and picturesque, and grow very slowly; a long-lived tree; usually obtainable in nurseries and from collectors, but must frequently be transplanted to be moved with safety. If a ball of earth can be retained about the roots of wild plants, they can often be moved successfully. There are horticultural forms distinguished by a slender weeping or distorted habit, and by variegated bluish or yellowish foliage, occasionally found in American nurseries. The type is usually propagated from the seed, the horticultural forms from cuttings or by grafting.

Plate XIII.—Juniperus Virginiana.