Gardeners Tips

Best known in our household for flavouring gin the Juniper and it’s berries are multi-talented

Key Features of the Juniper.

• Latin name Juniperus communis other common names Rocky mountain juniper
• Height up to 20 feet old trees can have a wide spread
• Type of tree – evergreen conifer
• Leaves – Short prickly blue-green needles growing in whorls of three
• Flowers male yellow and female green on separate trees
• Fruit spherical fleshy berries taking 3 years to ripen from green to black
• Bark grey-brown
• Family Cypress family

Origins and Distribution of the Juniper .

• Wide geographic spread in the northern hemisphere.
• Prominent in USA, Canada, Europe and Japan.

Uses and Attributes of the Juniper .

• The berries are used in cooking and to flavour gin.
• The wood and branches give off a nice scent when burnt and are used in some smokeries to preserve meat.
• As dwarf conifers and small shrubs they are very popular in gardens.
• There are many documented medicinal uses. Tradition says the berries were used to end pregnancies.

Gardeners Tips for the Juniper .

• Often confused with trees from the cedar family. The Red Cedar is a juniper virginiana but junipers are not from the Cedar family.
• Junipers are very useful evergreens for use in rockeries and in providing winter interest in the garden.
• Berries take 3 years and trees need a male and female so do not expect a big crop in the garden.

Other types of Juniper and key species

• There are over 50 species of Juniper with varying habits.
• Juniper chinensis, Juniper virginiana Juniper squamata are available as many cultivars.
• Juniperus chinensis the Chinese juniper variety ‘Blue Point’ has silvery-blue leaves
• Creeping Juniper is low growing prostrate form of Juniper with gray-green foliage.

Juniper comments from elsewhere

• In North America, the Micmac and Malecite Indians, native to the maritime provinces of Canada, used Juniperus communis for sprains, wounds, tuberculosis, ulcers both internal and external, consumption, and rheumatism. Their general belief was that the juniper hardened the body and made it better at fighting off illness. read more on planet botanica.
• Juniper, an important understorey shrub or small tree in the Caledonian Forest, has declined recently and is now the subject of conservation concern. Common juniper has the largest geographic range of any woody plant in the world. It is circumboreal in distribution. Trees for Life
• Juniper is often the first bonsai ever owned by a novice, due to its massive success in the mallsai market. The Juniper is well known and appreciated by all bonsai growers. Art of Bonsai
  

Read about our series on British tree reviews with a bakers dozen fact sheets

Credits
Juniper Tree, Valley of Fires by vambo25 CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Common Juniper by bottomdollar99730 CC BY 2.0

The British have a fascination with trees be they humble or ‘Remarkable’,’Ancient’ or saplings, ‘Great’ or just plain good.

I have collected facts on a dozen tree species to discuss over the next couple of days. I have tried to stick to a set format and apologise if I have missed your own personal favourite.

The book covers are just a small selection of books on the topic of Trees. As always you can buy them from Amazon by clicking on the cover. …

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The Quinine tree or large shrub has provided medical cures for malaria and fever for 400 years. The ground up bark is the key substance for this and as the additive in tonic water.

Key Features of Quinine Tree

• Latin name – Cinchona calisaya other common names Fever tree, Quina, Jesuits bark
• Height – up to 80 feet
• Type of tree – Evergreen
• Leaves – green shiny elliptic or oblong
• Flowers – Fragrant terminal tubular panicles in white to pink
• Fruit – Ovoid capsule containing winged seeds
• Bark – Grey-brown and special see below
• Family – Rubiaceae,

Origins and Distribution of the Quinine Tree

• Native to South America and Peru.
• Named after Countess of Chinchona who fell ill with malaria in 1638 but was saved by a treatment of bark administered by local indians.
• Peruvians tightly controlled the drug until the tree was established in Java by the British and Dutch.

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waiting for photo – if you have a suitable image let us know

Corylus are large shrubs or trees that produce nuts. The common ‘hazel’ is native to the UK and is often found in old hedge rows.

Key Features of the Hazel

• Latin name – Corylus avellana
• Height – up to 40 feet
• Type of tree – Deciduous
• Leaves – Green, round and double toothed
• Flowers – Male long catkins female small bud like with red stigma on same tree.
• Fruit – Nut surrounded by husk
• Bark – Silver-grey to pale brown
• Family – Corylaceae related to beech

Origins and Distribution of the Hazel

• Found throughout Europe and North Africa.
• Thrives in woodland and hedges.

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Some trees are named to confuse. The Indian Bean Tree is not from India and it doesn’t grow beans. As a native of north America it is named for a North American native Indian tribe. The seeds are produced in long bean like pods.

Key Features of the Indian Bean Tree

• Latin name – Catalpa bignonioides other common names Catalpa, Cigar tree or Catawba
• Height – up to 60 feet
• Type of tree – Deciduous
• Leaves – Bright green heart-shaped leaves taper to a sharp point.
• Flowers – Trumpet shaped 2″ long white and yellow flowers in panicles
• Fruit – Pendulous and numerous seed pods
• Bark – Orange to pink-brown and scaly
• Family – Bignoniaceae

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