Trees · Cupressaceae

Prickly juniper

Juniperus oxycedrus

Spanish EnebroCatalan CàdecNative2–8 mEvergreen

Tree of the prickly juniper — Tree · Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0

A shrub or small tree with sharp needles in threes and small reddish berries.

LeafNeedles
NeedlesOne by one
In winterYes, always green
BarkIn strips
FruitSmall scaly ball

The leaf

Stiff, very sharp needles, 1 to 2.5 cm, growing in whorls of three at the same level. Above, they have two whitish stripes separated by a green midrib.

The bark

Greyish brown and fibrous, coming away in long, thin strips.

The fruit

Round, fleshy berries 8 to 15 mm across that turn from green to a glossy reddish brown when ripe. They take about two years to mature.

The flower

Very small, inconspicuous flowers; there are male plants, with little yellow cones that shed pollen in late winter, and female plants.

Habit

Usually a shrub 2 to 4 m tall, though it can become a small tree up to 8 m, with a conical or irregular crown.

Where it grows

It is very common in dry pine woods, garrigue and open holm oak woods across most of Catalonia, on poor, sunny soils.

What it can be mistaken for

The Spanish juniper has scale leaves and blue-black fruit. The yew has soft, flat needles with no white stripes. Common juniper (Juniperus communis), a mountain plant, looks very similar but has a single white stripe on each needle and blue-black berries.

A story

Distilling its wood gives cade oil, oli de càdec in Catalan, with a strong tarry smell, once used to treat mange in livestock and in skin soaps.

Find out more

Photos from Wikimedia Commons:

Tree: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0
Leaf: Juan Carlos, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bark: Luis Fernández García, CC BY-SA 3.0
Fruit: Luis Fernández García, CC BY-SA 4.0