Weed Information: Juniperus virginiana (redcedar, eastern)
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Juniperus virginiana (redcedar, eastern)

Family: Cupressaceae

Description

Although truly a juniper, this is the `cedar` from which most cedar chests are made. Needles: either small and rounded or narrow and needle-like. The small, bluish, berry-like fruits are used in making gin.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow-green
  • Green
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Solitary, axillary
  • Catkin (ament, cone)
Number of Petals
  • 0 (no petals)
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • sepals lacking
Flower Sex
  • Unisexual (monoecious or dioecious)
Number of Styles
  • Styles lacking (male flowers only)
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • stamens lacking (female flowers only)
  • 2 stamens
  • 3 stamens
  • 4 stamens
  • 5 stamens
  • 6 stamens
  • 10 stamens
  • more than 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 0 (male flowers only or plants producing spores)
  • 1 carpel
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Berry, blue
  • Berry, green
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Opposite
  • Whorled 3 per node
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • < 5 mm (< .20 inch)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Width
  • < 1 mm (< .04 inch)
  • 1 - 5 mm (.04 - .20 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Lanceolate
  • Linear or filiform
  • Ovate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Clasping
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acuminate (attenuate)
  • Acute
  • Rounded (obtuse)
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Glandular
  • Glaucous
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Woody
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
  • Spines on leaves or stems
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Perennial
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 2.5 - 5 meters (8.3 - 16.6 feet)
  • more than 5.0 meters (16.6 33 feet)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
  • Arid
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • Colorado
  • Iowa
  • Minnesota
  • North Dakota
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Nebraska
Other
  • District of Columbia
Canadian Province or Territory
  • Ontario
  • Quebec

  • Weeds of Nebraska and the Great Plains, 1994 (ISBN 0939870-00-4) See page: 278
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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