I think winter is the best time to enjoy evergreen plants, and one of my favorites is Juniperus communis, AKA common juniper.
Juniper is a coniferous shrub or tree, ranging in height from 6-25 feet tall. It can also grow as a spreading shrub, extending similar distances along the ground, excellent for anchoring soil in uneven or rocky areas. Its needle-like leaves grow in whorls and consist of the green portion and a single white stomatal band on the inner surface.
A dioecious plant, juniper has both male and female parts. Male flowers are yellow and female blossoms are green. The fruit is spherical cones that look very much like berries. Initially green, the pseudo-berries ripen in about 18 months to a purple-black hue with a waxy blue coating. Fused scales line each cone's surface, and each one contains one tiny seed. Birds nibble on the cones and pass the intact, wax-coated seeds in their droppings. These cones are also wind pollinated, spreading far and wide to separate plants with nothing more than a gusty breeze.
Oil of juniper has been commonly used in medicines for many years, however, it's the distillates from juniper berries that make a favored alcoholic beverage: gin. Ironically, ancient herbalists prescribed juniper-berry chewing to aid digestion in recovering alcoholics!
The wood from juniper trees has been fashioned into everything from fence posts to pencils, so whittle yourself a wooden cup, fill it with gin and toast the versatile juniper this holiday season!
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