Western Juniper – Juniperus occidentalis is a tree or shrub native to the Western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 2,600–9,800 ft. Usually between 15 and 50 ft tall, exceptionally tall specimens can be found in the John Day area of Oregon close to 100 ft tall.
The plant is interesting as the juvenile leaves (on young seedlings only) are needle-like whereas the adult leaves are scale-like. The cones are berry-like, 5–10 mm in diameter, blue-brown with a whitish waxy bloom, and mature in about 18 months. The male cones are 2–4 mm long and shed their pollen in early spring. The plants can be either monoecious (with both sexes on the same plant) or dioecious (producing cones of only one sex).
The cones contain 1–3 seeds, most of which germinate in the springtime, and in Oregon, seeds germinate in April and the foliage emerges in June. Seed dispersal is conducted by water runoff, gravity, and animals.
The cones are an important food for several birds, including American robin, Clark’s nutcracker and cedar waxwing; these digest the fleshy cone scales and disperse the seeds in their droppings. Some local distillers have used local western juniper to flavor their gin.
