Red Cedar

Juniperus virginiana L.

    

                        

All photographs are copyrighted and are the property of E. Brunner.

Family:  Cupressaceae

Native or Introduced to Illinois:  native

Natural Habit in Illinois:   bluffs; rocky outcrops; old fields; dry woods; moist woods

Leaf:  This tree has two types of leaves - one dark green, very small and scalelike, clasping the stem in four ranks so that the stem appears square. The other kind, often appearing on young growth or vigorous shoots, is awl-shaped, quite sharp pointed, spreading and whitened beneath.

Cones:  Male and female cones are on separate trees.  The staminate (male) cones are yellowish-brown, papery, solitary at the tips of branchlets, ovoid to ellipsoid, and 0.2-0.4 cm (1/16-1/8”) long.  The ovulate (female) cones are solitary at the tips of branchlets, dark blue or bluish-purple, waxy and berrylike, 0.4-0.7 cm (3/16-1/4”) long.  The female cones ripen from September through October.  There are 1-3 seeds per cone. 

Fruit:   Red cedar seeds are yellow-brown and round, 2-4 mm in diameter, ridged near the base, and sometimes shallowly pitted.

Twig:   The twigs are four-sided.

Bark:  The bark is very distinct, being thin, reddish brown in color.  It peels off in long, shreddy strips.

Size/Form/Shape:   The evergreen tree is shaped like a pyramid or column, with reddish-brown to grayish colored bark that is fibrous and shedding.  It is a is a medium-sized dioecious or rarely monoecious tree from 10-20 m (33-66') tall.

Other:  Ethnobotanic: The red cedar is used by many tribes for incense in purification and ritual (Kindscher 1992).  For numerous tribes, the red cedar tree symbolizes the tree of life and is burned in sweat lodges and in purification rites.

 The Blackfeet made a tea from the berries of the red cedar to stop vomiting (Kindscher 1992).  A Blackfeet remedy for arthritis and rheumatism was to boil red cedar leaves in water, add one-half teaspoon of turpentine, and when cooled, rub the mixture on affected parts.  The Blackfeet also drank a tea made from red cedar root as a general tonic; mixed with Populus leaves this root tea became a liniment for stiff backs or backache (M^cClintock 1909, Johnston 1970, Hellson 1974). 

The Cheyenne steeped the leaves of the red cedar and drank the resulting tea to relieve persistent coughing or a tickling in the throat.  It was also believed to produce sedative effects that were especially useful for calming a hyperactive person.  Cheyenne women drank the red cedar tea to speed delivery during childbirth (Grinnell 1962).  The Cheyenne, along with the Flathead, Nez Perce, Kutenai, and Sioux, made a tea from red cedar boughs, branches, and fleshy cones, which they drank for colds, fevers, tonsillitis, and pneumonia (Hart 1976).

 As a cure for asthma, the Gros Ventres ate whole red cedar berries or pulverized them and boiled them to make a tea.  They also made a preparation from the leaves mixed with the root, which they applied topically to control bleeding (Kroeber 1908).  The Crows drank this medicinal tea to check diarrhea and to stop lung or nasal hemorrhage.  Crow women drank it after childbirth for cleansing and healing (Hart 1976).

 The young leafy twigs of the red cedar were officially listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1894 as a diuretic (Kindscher 1992).  The distilled oil of the red cedar has been officially listed as a reagent in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia since 1916 (ibid.).

 The wood of red cedar is very durable, and was used for lance shafts, bows, and other items.  Flutes made from red cedar wood were highly regarded by the Cheyenne.  Cedar boughs were used for bedding. The Menomini wove mats of cedar bark.  The mats were used for roofing temporary structures, for partitions, floor mats and wrappings, and for various purposes in the canoes.

 Ornamental: Seedlings of red cedar are ordinarily used as stock for grafting ornamental juniper clones.  Red cedars are often used as ornamentals for their evergreen foliage.  Most cemetery plantings include old red cedar trees and many younger dwarf junipers.  All of the native junipers are valuable ornamental species, and many horticultural varieties have been developed.  Red cedar is widely used in shelterbelts and wildlife plantings.  The close-grained, aromatic, and durable wood of junipers is used for furniture, interior paneling, novelties, and fence posts.  The fruits and young branches contain aromatic oil that is used in medicines.

 Wildlife: Red cedar and other junipers are important to wildlife throughout the country.  Their twigs and foliage are eaten extensively by hoofed browsers, but the chief attraction to wildlife is the bluish-black berry-like fruit.  The cedar waxwing is one of the principal users of red cedar berries, but numerous other birds and mammals, both large and small, make these fruits an important part of their diet.  In addition to their wildlife food value, cedars provide important protective and nesting cover.  Chipping sparrows, robins, song sparrows, and mockingbirds use these trees as one of their favorite nesting sites.  Juncos, myrtle warblers, sparrows of various kinds, and other birds use the dense foliage as roosting cover.  In winter, their dense protective shelter is especially valuable.

County Distribution Map for Illinois:  

Sources for the Sullivan Middle School Tree Identification Guide were obtained though the use of the following sites:

• Illinois Plant Information Network (ILPIN) @ http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/ilpin/ilpin.html#Background
• List of Woody Plants Native or Naturalized in Illinois @ http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/woody.html
• Tree Species @ http://ostermiller.org/tree/species.html
• Index to Eastern/Central Trees @ http://www.arborday.org/trees/ECtreelist.html
• ISU Forestry Extension Identification of Common Trees of Iowa @ http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/tree/
• Key to Leaves of Virginia Trees @ http://www.fw.vt.edu/dendro/forsite/key/intro.htm
• List of Native Trees for Use Along Roadsides in Illinois @ http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/~kenr/treetable.html
• The PLANTS Database @ http://plants.usda.gov/

The information below is from the National Arbor Day Foundation.  This information can be viewed in the original (source) form by visiting The National Arbor Day Foundation at http://www.arborday.org.

GROWING REQUIREMENTS/RATE
Sun Exposure:  This red cedar does well in full sun.
Soil Type:  The red cedar grows in acidic, alkaline, loamy, moist, rich, clay, sandy, well-drained, wide range of soils. This tree is drought tolerant.
Moisture:  Can withstand occasional flooding, yet has good drought tolerance.
Growth Rate:  This tree grows at a medium growth rate.

Hardiness Zones: 2 - 9
This red cedar can be expected to grow in the zones shown in color in the arborday.org zone map.