CUPRESSACEAE - - Cypress Family

Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus var. virginiana — Eastern Red Cedar

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana) - Tree becoming 30 m. tall; scale-like leaves opposite, 4-ranked, 1—4 mm. long, acute; staminate ament 3—4 mm. long; cone sub-globose, 5—6 mm. long, glabrous; seed 3—4 mm. long, smooth. The foliage is strongly scented. The durable heart-wood is used in cabinet work and especially for lead-pencils. The cones are much eaten by birds and the seeds thus widely distributed.

Habitat:

In a wide variety of forests, pastures, old fields, roadsides, and fencerows, primarily upland, occurring most abundantly on circumneutral soils (including shrink-swell clays), derived from mafic or calcareous rocks. Var. virginiana ranges throughout e. United States. The wood is much used for fence posts and the traditional southern cedar chest (which takes advantage of the aromatic and moth-deterrent properties of cedar wood).

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red Cedar)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red Cedar)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.