Creeping Juniper, Juniperus horizontalis, seen on Western Head in Cutler. The white ‘berries’ are actually cones, and will mature in about 18 months to a dark blue/black color. This is a close cousin to the Common Juniper, Juniperus communis, which is generally used for flavoring.
Juniper
Juniper, Juniperus communis, is a neat little plant we have growing here in the Quoddy region. As a matter of fact, it has the largest range of any woody plant in the world, ranging across most of the Northern Hemisphere. With that big of a range one would think there would be many scores of species in the genus Juniperus, and, sure enough, there are, and the botanists are still arguing about this and trying to sort them all out. The biggest Juniper in the world is the Syrian juniper and this monster is over 120 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter; the biggest in North America is the Bennett Western Juniper of California at over 3000 years old and over 85 feet tall, and the biggest juniper in Maine is the Eastern Red cedar in Hebron coming in at a height of 53 feet .
We aren’t very concerned about the other species of juniper, as few grow here naturally. We do have the creeping juniper Juniperus horizontalis, and these are found along the coast like Shackford Head in Eastport and Western Head in Cutler. Often these are used as groundcover in gardens. The Common Juniper, J. communis, grows almost everywhere inland and thrives along roadsides, pastures and rocky soils. It is generally not well liked by farmers, as it can spread and take up a considerable amount of space and crowd out any potential forage. There are many subspecies and variants suggested for J. communis, but most botanists (e.g. H. R. Hinds, ‘Flora of New Brunswick’) do not recognize them. One of these plants, J.communis subsp. Alpina var. megistocarpa Fernald & H. St. John, is an interesting shrub. This plant apparently has much bigger fruits than J. communis, and these berries may be eaten right off the stem when ripe. I have yet to discover this variety.
Juniper is used mostly as a decorative garden plant. The wood is rugged, and can be carved into small items like eating utensils or trenails in wooden shipbuilding. These industries were more common in Northern Europe, and I can find little reference to their use here in the Western Hemisphere. The biggest use of Juniper is flavoring. The berries (actually, these are cones, with 3 or sometimes 6 seeds in each ‘berry’) are dried and commercially sold to flavor meats (especially types of game), and gin. Gin not only gets its flavor but also its name from ‘genievre’, the French word for Juniper berry.
Juniper berries have been used medicinally for many years. The earliest reference appears to be Pedanius Dioscorides (40 – 90 AD), the famed Greek herbalist and author of De materia medica, the Physician’s Desk Reference for over 1500 years. Dioscorides prescribed a juniper berry concoction as a contraceptive medication. It is interesting that I found a Native American reference for the same medical use, but I could find no evidence that this ever worked. Native Americans did make an herbal tea of juniper berries to treat diabetes. One reference stated that clinical studies indicated the effectiveness of this treatment in insulin dependent diabetes. It is claimed that this procedure stimulates insulin production in the body’s fat cells and also stabilizes blood sugar levels.
As the man says, “Please consult your health care provider for any and all medications that may or may not work.” As for me, I’ll take my juniper berries ready mixed in a store boughten decoction (Tanqueray) with some tonic water and ice cubes, and study a little bit more about Juniper.
