Juniperus communis

Juniperus communis in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats

C. M. Enescu, T. Houston Durrant, G. Caudullo, D. de Rigo culinary purposes and for the preparation of alcoholic drinks, such
as flavouring gin17, 18 .
Juniperus communis L., known as juniper or common juniper, is the most widespread of the European conifers worldwide.
It is one of the main species within the genus Juniperus, which comprises a large number of species. Common juniper is Threats and Diseases
the only one of them that occurs in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Throughout Europe, common juniper is the primary host of
Common juniper is a slow-growing evergreen conifer . 1, 2 the rusts Gymnosporangium clavariiforme and G. cornutum.
Across its wide distribution range, it may take the form of a multi- Many fungi, such as the needle cast fungus (Lophodermium
stemmed shrub or it can develop a tree-like shape2, 3 . It is a very
Frequency
< 25%
juniperinum), the juniper twig blight (Phomopsis juniperovora),
variable species (partly as a result of its enormous geographical 25% - 50% and the root rot (Phytophthora cinnamomi) can cause severe
50% - 75%
range) and there is ongoing debate over how many distinct > 75% infections on junipers2 .
Chorology
subspecies there are4-6 . It can be easily recognised by its needle- Native
like leaves which are borne in whorls of three. The needles are
sessile, 5-12(15) mm long, and they have one white band on the
upperside2 . This species is usually dioecious7, 8 , but is occasionally
monoecious2, 9 . The seed cones are fleshy berry-like (galbulus),
purple to black in colour, up to 1 cm, globose or longer than broad.
They ripen in the second or third year. The seeds are 4-5 mm long,
ovoid, without wings, three-cornered, typically 1 to 3 per cone.
They are usually dispersed by birds or other animals2 .

Distribution
Common juniper has the widest distribution range of all
conifers6, 10 , and can be found throughout the Northern Hemisphere:
in North America, Europe, and Asia. It is the most northerly of
the juniper species and one of the most northerly conifers in the Map 1: Plot distribution and simplified chorology map for Juniperus communis.
Frequency of Juniperus communis occurrences within the field observations
world10 . In Europe, it can be found from northern Scandinavia11 as reported by the National Forest Inventories. The chorology of the native
to parts of southern Spain, although at more southern latitudes spatial range for J. communis is derived after Meusel and Jäger19 .
it is usually confined to mountain areas. Juniper grows in low
elevations in pasture lands and abandoned fields, as well as at
high elevations, above the treeline in Eurosiberian mountains7. Importance and Usage
Juniper is amongst the most useful multi-purpose shrub
Habitat and Ecology species worldwide. Containing a large number of essential oils13 , Fleshy berry-like seed cones; they become purple-blue in colour when mature.
(Copyright Ettore Balocchi, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
Common juniper is a typical shrub species of poor soils and extracts from its twigs, leaves, and berries (the blue-black seed
harsh environments7. It is drought and cold tolerant but requires cones) have been used as traditional remedies against urinary
plenty of light2 . It can grow on acidic sandy or calcareous soils12 and infections2 , dermatitis14 , or as a diuretic15 . The wood has even
favours free-draining soils and rocky outcrops. In many areas, juniper been shown suitable for artificial bone implants16 . The twigs,
is considered to be a pioneer species, able to colonise bare terrain leaves, and especially the berries represent an important food
and a range of soil types12 . The subspecies Juniperus communis ssp. source for several small and large animals, such as birds, deer,
alpina occurs in a narrow band above or north of the treeline. elk, cattle, horses and sheep2 , and humans use the berries for

Needle-like leaves arranged in whorls of three in the branchlet with one

white stomata band on the upper side.
(Copyright Vito Buono, www.actaplantarum.org: AP)

References
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[3] B. Beikircher, S. Mayr, Plant, Cell & Ecology 26, 637 (1998).
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Juniper in shrub form grown in a rocky habitat in the Ligurian Alps (Savona, North Italy). [6] A. Farjon, D. Filer, An Atlas of the World’s Biomedical Materials Research 64A, 672
(Copyright Giovanni Caudullo: CC-BY) Conifers: An Analysis of their Distribution, (2003).
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Autoecology diagrams based on harmonised Status (Brill, 2013). López-Tamames, Analytica Chimica Acta
Field data in Europe (including absences) Observed presences in Europe field observations from forest plots. [7] D. Garcia, R. Zamora, J. M. Gomez, P. 628, 222 (2008).
Jordano, J. A. Hodar, Journal of Ecology [18] F. Cooper, R. E. Stone, P. McEvoy, T. Wilkins,
88, 435 (2000). N. Reid, The conservation status of
[8] L. O. Pedro, A. Montserrat, T. Salvador, juniper formations in Ireland, Department
Annals of Botany 89, 205 (2002). of Environment, Heritage and Local
Average temperature of the coldest month (°C)

Sum of precipitation of the driest month (mm)

[9] A. M. Ottley, Botanical Gazette 48(1), 31 Government, Dublin, Ireland (2012).

(1909). [19] H. Meusel, E. Jäger, eds., Vergleichende
[10] J. E. Eckenwalder, Conifers of the World: Chorologie der Zentraleuropäischen Flora
Annual precipitation (mm)

Annual precipitation (mm)

The Complete Reference (Timber Press, - Band I, II, III (Gustav Fischer Verlag,
2009). Jena, 1998).

This is an extended summary of the chapter. The full version of

this chapter (revised and peer-reviewed) will be published online at
https://w3id.org/mtv/FISE-Comm/v01/e01d2de. The purpose of this
summary is to provide an accessible dissemination of the related
main topics.
This QR code points to the full online version, where the most
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Please, cite as:
Enescu, C. M., Houston Durrant, T., Caudullo, G., de Rigo, D., 2016.
Juniperus communis in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage
and threats. In: San-Miguel-Ayanz, J., de Rigo, D., Caudullo, G.,
Annual average temperature (°C) Potential spring-summer solar irradiation (kWh m-2) Seasonal variation of monthly precipitation (dimensionless) Houston Durrant, T., Mauri, A. (Eds.), European Atlas of Forest Tree
Species. Publ. Off. EU, Luxembourg, pp. e01d2de+

104 European Atlas of Forest Tree Species | Tree species

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