Juniperus oxycedrus
Encyclopedia
Juniperus oxycedrus is a species of juniper
, native across the Mediterranean region from Morocco
and Portugal
, north to southern France
, east to westernmost Iran
, and south to Lebanon
and Israel
, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level up to 1600 m altitude. The specific epithet oxycedrus means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or cedrus of the ancient Greeks.
2–3 m tall to a small erect tree
10–15 m tall. It has needle-like leaves
in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5–20 mm long and 1–2 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious
, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones
are berry
-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 7–12 mm diameter, and have three or six fused scales in 1-2 whorls, three of the scales with a single seed
. The seeds are dispersed when bird
s eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen
cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter or early spring.
As to be expected from the wide range, Juniperus oxycedrus is very variable. One recent study splits it into three species, though other authorities do not accept this:
A further species Juniperus macrocarpa
, confined to Mediterranean coastal sands, is more distinct but has also often been treated as a subspecies of Prickly Juniper, as J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa; it differs in the broader leaves 2–3 mm wide, and larger cones 12–18 mm diameter.
Other close relatives of J. oxycedrus include Juniperus brevifolia
on the Azores
, Juniperus cedrus
on the Canary Islands
and Juniperus formosana
in eastern Asia
.
obtained through destructive distillation
of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in some cosmetics
and (traditional) skin treatment drugs, as well as incense
.
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
, native across the Mediterranean region from Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, north to southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, east to westernmost Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and south to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level up to 1600 m altitude. The specific epithet oxycedrus means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or cedrus of the ancient Greeks.
Description
The Juniperus oxycedrus tree is very variable in shape, forming a spreading shrubShrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
2–3 m tall to a small erect tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
10–15 m tall. It has needle-like leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5–20 mm long and 1–2 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 7–12 mm diameter, and have three or six fused scales in 1-2 whorls, three of the scales with a single seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
. The seeds are dispersed when bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
cones are yellow, 2–3 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter or early spring.
As to be expected from the wide range, Juniperus oxycedrus is very variable. One recent study splits it into three species, though other authorities do not accept this:
- Juniperus oxycedrus L. - Western Prickly Juniper. Southwest Europe, in eastern Portugal and SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
east to southern FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, northwest ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, CorsicaCorsicaCorsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, and SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, and northwest Africa from Morocco east to TunisiaTunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
. Leaves long (10–20 mm), narrow-based; cones smooth. - Juniperus navicularis Gand. (syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. transtagana) - Portuguese Prickly Juniper. Coastal southwest Portugal. Leaves short (5–12 mm); cones smooth.
- Juniperus deltoides R.P.Adams - Eastern Prickly Juniper. Central Italy east to Iran and Israel. Leaves long (10–20 mm), broad-based; cones with raised scale edges.
Subspecies
An additional variety or subspecies J. oxycedrus var. badia H.Gay (syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. badia (H.Gay) Debeaux) is distinguished on the basis of larger cones (10–13 mm diameter), tinged purple when mature; it is described from northern Algeria, and also reported from Portugal and Spain.A further species Juniperus macrocarpa
Juniperus macrocarpa
Juniperus macrocarpa is a species of juniper, native across the northern Mediterranean region from southeastern Spain east to western Turkey and Cyprus, growing on coastal sand dunes from sea level up to 75 m altitude.It is a spreading shrub 2-5 m tall, rarely a small tree up to 14 m...
, confined to Mediterranean coastal sands, is more distinct but has also often been treated as a subspecies of Prickly Juniper, as J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa; it differs in the broader leaves 2–3 mm wide, and larger cones 12–18 mm diameter.
Other close relatives of J. oxycedrus include Juniperus brevifolia
Juniperus brevifolia
Juniperus brevifolia is a species of juniper, endemic to the Azores , where it occurs at altitudes of 240-800 m, rarely up to 1,500 m...
on the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, Juniperus cedrus
Juniperus cedrus
Juniperus cedrus is a species of juniper, native to the western Canary Islands and Madeira , where it occurs at altitudes of 500-2400 m...
on the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
and Juniperus formosana
Juniperus formosana
Juniperus formosana is a species of conifer in the Cupressaceae family.It is found in China and Taiwan.-References:* IUCN - Conifer Specialist Group 1998.**.** Downloaded on 10 July 2007....
in eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Uses
Cade oil is the essential oilEssential oil
An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea, or simply as the "oil of" the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove...
obtained through destructive distillation
Distillation
Distillation is a method of separating mixtures based on differences in volatilities of components in a boiling liquid mixture. Distillation is a unit operation, or a physical separation process, and not a chemical reaction....
of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in some cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
and (traditional) skin treatment drugs, as well as incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
.