Juniperus polycarpos

What to Eat

Edible parts: Fruit-oil, Spice

The oil from the fruit is used to flavor gin after removing the turpentine-like odor. The fruit is also used as a spice.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in the Himalayas between 1,500-4,300 m altitude. It grows in semi-arid places.

Afghanistan, Asia, Central Asia, China, Georgia, Himalayas, India, Nepal, Tajikistan, Tibet,

How to Identify

A shrub or small tree. It grows 12-15 m tall. It can be 2 m around the trunk. The crown is a pyramid shape. The wood has a sweet smell. The lower leaves are awl shaped and the upper leaves are scale like and egg shaped. The male flower catkins are on a scaly stalk. The fruit are a flattened round shape. They are 8.5 mm across. They are bluish-black when ripe. They have 2-5 seeds.

Medicinal Uses

The wood is burned as incense.

Juniperus polycarpos, commonly known as Persian juniper, is species of juniper native to western Asia. Some authorities classify it as a subspecies or variety of Juniperus excelsa. There are two recognized varieties. J. polycarpos var. polycarpos ranges from Azerbaijan and Armenia to the Zagros Mountains of western Iran. J. polycarpos var. turcomanica ranges along the eastern Elburz and Kopet Dag mountains of northeastern Iran and southern Turkmenistan. J. seravschanica, which ranges further east into Central Asia and Afghanistan, is sometimes treated as a variety of J. polycarpos.

Production

Trees can live for 1,000 years.

Notes

There are 50 to 60 Juniperus species. The wood in burnt as incense.

More from Cupressaceae

Calocedrus decurrens - (Torr.)Florin.

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Cryptomeria japonica

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Juniperus ashei

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Juniperus bermudiana

Bermuda cedar, Bermuda juniper

Juniperus californica

Californian Juniper, Chuperosa

Juniperus communis nana

Juniper