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| ## eastern red cedar {#eastern-red-cedar .Title-Header}               |
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| *Juniperus virginiana* Sarg.                                          |
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| Plant Symbol = JUVI                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Carlinville (IL)
Field Office, & Missouri State Office

### ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6979166666666665in" height="4.051388888888889in"}

#### Alternative Names

Cedar tree, juniper, savin, evergreen, cedar apple, and Virginia red
cedar

#### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The red cedar is used by many tribes for incense in
purification and ritual (Kindscher 1992). For numerous tribes, the red
cedar tree symbolizes the tree of life and is burned in sweat lodges and
in purification rites.

The Blackfeet made a tea from the berries of the red cedar to stop
vomiting (Kindscher 1992). A

blackfeet remedy for arthritis and rheumatism was to boil red cedar
leaves in water, add one-half teaspoon

of turpentine, and when cooled, rub the mixture on affected parts. The
Blackfeet also drank a tea made from red cedar root as a general tonic;
mixed with *Populus* leaves this root tea became a liniment for stiff
backs or backache (M^c^Clintock 1909, Johnston 1970, Hellson 1974).

The Cheyenne steeped the leaves of the red cedar and drank the resulting
tea to relieve persistent coughing or a tickling in the throat. It was
also believed to produce sedative effects that were especially useful
for calming a hyperactive person. Cheyenne women drank the red cedar tea
to speed delivery during childbirth (Grinnell 1962). The Cheyenne, along
with the Flathead, Nez Perce, Kutenai, and Sioux, made a tea from red
cedar boughs, branches, and fleshy cones, which they drank for colds,
fevers, tonsillitis, and pneumonia (Hart 1976).

As a cure for asthma, the Gros Ventres ate whole red cedar berries or
pulverized them and boiled them to make a tea. They also made a
preparation from the leaves mixed with the root, which they applied
topically to control bleeding (Kroeber 1908). The Crows drank this
medicinal tea to check diarrhea and to stop lung or nasal hemorrhage.
Crow women drank it after childbirth for cleansing and healing (Hart
1976).

The young leafy twigs of the red cedar were officially listed in the
*U.S. Pharmacopoeia* from 1820 to 1894 as a diuretic (Kindscher 1992).
The distilled oil of the red cedar has been officially listed as a
reagent in the *U.S. Pharmacopoeia* since 1916 (*ibid*.).

The wood of red cedar is very durable, and was used for lance shafts,
bows, and other items. Flutes made from red cedar wood were highly
regarded by the Cheyenne. Cedar boughs were used for bedding. The
Menomini wove mats of cedar bark. The mats were used for roofing
temporary structures, for partitions, floor mats and wrappings, and for
various purposes in the canoes.

*Ornamental*: Seedlings of red cedar are ordinarily used as stock for
grafting ornamental juniper clones. Red cedars are often used as
ornamentals for their evergreen foliage. Most cemetery plantings include
old red cedar trees and many younger dwarf junipers. All of the native
junipers are valuable ornamental species, and many horticultural
varieties have been developed. Red cedar is widely used in shelterbelts
and wildlife plantings. The close-grained, aromatic, and durable wood of
junipers is used for furniture, interior paneling, novelties, and fence
posts. The fruits and young branches contain aromatic oil that is used
in medicines.

*Wildlife*: Red cedar and other junipers are important to wildlife
throughout the country. Their twigs and foliage are eaten extensively by
hoofed browsers, but the chief attraction to wildlife is the
bluish-black berry-like fruit. The cedar waxwing is one of the principal
users of red cedar berries, but numerous other birds and mammals, both
large and small, make these fruits an important part of their diet. In
addition to their wildlife food value, cedars provide important
protective and nesting cover. Chipping sparrows, robins, song sparrows,
and mockingbirds use these trees as one of their favorite nesting sites.
Juncos, myrtle warblers, sparrows of various kinds, and other birds use
the dense foliage as roosting cover. In winter, their dense protective
shelter is especially valuable.

#### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious status
and wetland indicator values.

#### Description

*General*: Cypress Family (Cupressaceae). Red cedar (*Juniperus
virginiana*) is a medium-sized dioecious or rarely monoecious tree from
10-20 m (33-66\') tall (M^c^Gregor et al. 1986, Stephens 1973). The
evergreen tree is shaped like a pyramid or column, with reddish-brown to
grayish colored bark that is fibrous and shedding. Branches are usually
reddish-brown. Leave are opposite, simple, green or blue-green, closely
appressed and overlapping the leaf above, scale-like, and 0.2-0.3 cm
(1/16-1/8") long or needlelike and 0.6-1.2 cm (1/4-1/2") long. Male and
female cones are on separate trees. The staminate (male) cones are
yellowish-brown, papery, solitary at the tips of branchlets, ovoid to
ellipsoid, and 0.2-0.4 cm (1/16-1/8") long. The ovulate (female) cones
are solitary at the tips of branchlets, dark blue or bluish-purple, waxy
and berrylike, 0.4-0.7 cm (3/16-1/4") long. The female cones ripen from
September through October. There are 1-3 seeds per cone. Red cedar seeds
are yellow-brown and round, 2-4 mm in diameter, ridged near the base,
and sometimes shallowly pitted.

#### Distribution

The distribution of red cedar (*Juniperus virginiana*) spans the
U.S. east of the Rockies. The species also occurs in Oregon in the west.
The southern red cedar (*var. silicicola*) occurs only in the
southeastern US. For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

#### Establishment

It is especially well adapted to dry areas. Red cedar is generally
propagated by cuttings.

##### Propagation from Cuttings

Cuttings are made 5 to 15 cm (2 to 65 inches) long from new lateral
growth tips stripped of older branches. A small piece of old wood, "a
heel," is thus left attached to the base of the cutting. Some
propagators believe this to be advantageous. In other cases, good
results are obtained when the cuttings are just clipped without the
"heel" from the older wood. Cuttings from the current season's terminal
growth also root well.

Cuttings to be rooted in the greenhouse can be taken at any time during
the winter or rooted outdoors on heated beds. Exposing the stock plants
to several hard freezes seems to give better rooting. Optimum time for
taking cuttings is when stock plants have ceased growth (i.e. the late
fall-winter propagation period is more successful than summer). For
propagating in an outdoor cold frame, cuttings are taken in late summer
or early fall. There may be advantages to using bottom heat. Lightly
wounding the base of the cuttings is sometimes helpful, and the use of
root-promoting chemicals, especially IBA, is beneficial. Recommendations
for root-promoting chemicals include the following: 2500 IBA Quick-dip
(Alabama), 3000 -- 8000 ppm IBA liquid, and 0.3-4.5 percent IBA talc.
Medium-coarse sand or a 10:1 mixture of perlite and peat moss is a
satisfactory rooting medium. Maintenance of a humid environment without
excessive wetting of the cuttings is desirable, as is a relatively high
light intensity. A light, intermittent mist can be used. Bottom heat of
60-65°F (12°C) is critical the first six weeks of propagation to allow
the basal wound of cuttings to callus.

##### Seed Propagation

*Juniperus virginiana* flowers from March to May. The fruits should be
gathered in the fall (September-November) as soon as the berry-like
cones become ripe. Red cedar trees come to seed-bearing age in 10 years,
and they bear cones every 2-3 years. Seed collection can be done by
stripping or picking the berries by hand from the trees, or by flailing
the fruits to ground cloths. Be careful to pick only ripe berries. Since
the number of filled seeds varies widely from tree to tree, it is
important to test the seeds by cutting to determine percent fill. Seeds
may be stored as berries or cleaned seeds.

The seeds can be recovered by macerating the fruits and floating the
seeds to the top. The addition of detergent to the maceration water
helps to separate seeds from the resinous fruits. Red cedar seeds store
quite well. They should be dried to 10-20% moisture and stored in a
sealed container at cold temperatures.

For best germination, seeds should be removed from the fruits, then the
seed coat is softened by treating it with sulfuric acid for 120 minutes.
After soaking the seeds in sulfuric acid, follow with 6 weeks of warm
stratification at 20 to 30°C (70 to 85°F), or summer planting, then 10
weeks of pre-chilling at 4°C (40°F). Use of fresh seed reduced the warm
stratification time. Rather than the acid treatment, two to three months
of warm stratification could be used. As an alternative for cold
stratification, the seed may be sown in the fall. Germination is delayed
at temperatures above 15°C (60° F). Germination is often delayed in red
cedar seeds, as seeds are consistently highly dormant.

Red cedar seeds are usually sown in the nursery in the late summer or
fall, but may be sown in spring or summer. The seeds of most species
should be sown in fall to take advantage of natural pre-chilling. Red
cedar seeds are usually drilled in well-prepared seedbeds in rows 15 to
20 cm apart and covered with 0.6 cm of soil. In nurseries with severe
climates, such as those in the Great Plains, considerable care must be
taken to protect the beds with mulch and snow fences.

Viability of the seed varies considerably from year to year and among
lots, but it is never much over 50 percent. Treated seed is usually
planted in the spring, either in outdoor beds or in flats in the
greenhouse. Two or three years are required to produce plants large
enough to graft.

*Juniperus virginiana* -- 14-18 seeds per 110 kg fruit, 96 seeds per
gram.

#### Management

The following information on the *Traditional Resource Management* (TRM)
red cedar was provided by Lynn Youngbuck, who is Cherokee, Chiracahua,
and Fox. TRM includes the following:

-   Take only what you need, leaving the best to reproduce.

-   Speak to the plant, leave an offering of tobacco or sage before
    harvesting. The plant will grow back two stems for every one cut.

-   Humans are another strand in life. Plants sustain us and should be
    treated as another living being.

-   Plants were taken care of by extended family groups of women. They
    were taken care of and watched each year for generations.

-   Materials harvested were shared and traded with the whole tribe.

-   Cedar bark was harvested in early June or early July as the bark is
    more easily removed at that season (Densmore 1974). The gathering of
    cedar bark was attended with a simple ceremony, followed by a feast.
    The next day the tree was cut. The bark was removed, and the tree
    was permitted to remain as it fell, and when thoroughly, dry was
    used for fuel.

#### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

JUVI is available through most nurseries. Cultivars include: Baker's
Blue, Blue Mountain, Brodie, Burkii, Canaerti, Cupressifolia, Dundee,
Emerald Sentinel, Glauca, Gray Owl, Hillspire, Idyllwild, Manhattan
Blue, Mission Spire, Nova, Pendula, Patt River, Princeton Sentry, Royo,
Silver Spreader, Stover, and Taylor. Contact your local Natural
Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service)
office for more information. Look in the phone book under "United States
Government." The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed
under the subheading "Department of Agriculture."

#### References

Andros, F. 1883. *The medicine and surgery of the Winnebago and Dakota
Indians*. American Medical Association Journal 1:116-118.

Carlson, G.G. & V.H. Jones 1939*. Some notes on use of plants by the
Comanche Indians*. Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters
25:517-543.

Densmore, F. 1974. *How Indians use wild plants for food, medicine, and
crafts*. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York. 397 pp.

Grinnell, G.B. 1962. *The Cheyenne Indians*. 2 Vols. Cooper Square
Publishers, New York, New York.

Hart, J. A. 1976. *Montana native plants and early peoples*. Montana
Historical Society, Helena, Montana.

Hartmann, H.T., D.E. Kesler, & F.T. Davies, Jr. 1990. *Plant propagation
principles and practices.* Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
647 pp.

Hellson, J.C. 1974. *Ethnobotany of the Blackfoot Indians*. National
Museum of Man, Mercury Series, Canadian Ethnology Service Paper No. 19.

Johnston, A. 1970 *. Blackfoot Indian utilization of the flora of the
northwestern Great Plains.* Economic Botany 24:301-24.

Kindscher, K. 1992. *Medicinal wild plants of the prairie. An
ethnobotanical guide.* University Press of Kansas. 340 pp.

Kindscher, K. 1987. *Edible wild plants of the prairie. An
ethnobotanical guide.* University Press of Kansas. 276 pp.

Kroeber, A.L. 1908. *The ethnology of the Gros Ventre*. American Museum
of Natural History, Anthropological Papers 1:145-281.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits.* Dover Publications, Inc., New
York, New York. 500 pp.

M^c^Clintock, W. 1909. *Materia medica of the Blackfeet*. Zeitschrift
fur Ethnologie: 273-279.

McGregor, R.L., T.M. Barkley, R.E. Brooks, & E.K. Schofield (eds.) 1985.
*Flora of the Great Plains*. Great Plains Flora Association. University
Press of Kansas. 1402 pp.

Moore, M. 1979. *Medicinal plants of the mountain west.* Museum of New
Mexico Press. 200 pp.

Smith, H.H. 1928. *Ethnobotany of the Meskwaki Indians*. Bulletin of the
Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 4(2):175-326.

Stephens, H.A. 1973. *Woody plants of the north central plains*. The
University Press of Kansas. 530 pp.

Tilford, G.L. 1997. *Edible and medicinal plants of the west*. Mountain
Press Publishing Company, Missoula, Montana.

Vestal, P.A. & R.E. Schultes 1939. *The economic botany of the Kiowa
Indians*. Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.

Young, A.J. & C.G. Young 1992. *Seeds of woody plants in North America*.
Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon.

#### Prepared By

##### *Michelle Stevens*

formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

##### *Jerry Kaiser*

USDA, NRCS, Missouri State Office, Elsberry, Missouri

##### *Ivan Dozier*

USDA, NRCS, Carlinville Field Office, Carlinville, Illinois

#### Species Coordinator

##### *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis,
California

Edited: 05dec00 jsp; 21may03 ahv; 23may05 rln; 060801 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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