Flora of the Southeastern United States

Juniperus communis Linnaeus var. depressa Pursh. Common name: Ground Juniper, Mountain Juniper, Common Juniper. Phenology: Mar-Apr; fleshy cone maturing in second or third year. Habitat: In thin soil around rock outcrops on mountain summits and Piedmont monadnocks and rocky bluffs (in GA and NC), high elevation old fields (in VA), xeric Coastal Plain sandhills (in SC and VA). Distribution: Juniperus communis is circumpolar, widespread in n. North America, n. Europe, and n. Asia. Adams (2008a, 2008b, 2008c, 2018) recognizes five varieties in North America, all native eastern North American plants belonging to var. depressa. In North America J. communis s.l. is primarily northern and montane, occurring nearly throughout Canada and Alaska, south in the Appalachians to South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, south in the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico, Arizona, and California. It is sometimes planted as a landscaping plant. In e. North America, it is rare and scattered south of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, ranging south to a few disjunct sites in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and s. Indiana, in our area notably known from Mount Satulah (Macon County, North Carolina), King's Pinnacle (Gaston County, North Carolina), and in sandy soils at Hitchcock Woods (Aiken County, South Carolina).

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: Var. depressa, a decumbent shrub, up to about 1 meter high, forms large clonal patches. Harvill et al. (1992) reported scattered sites for var. communis in montane VA; these are based on columnar trees. Adams in FNA (1993b) considered var. depressa to be the only variety occurring in e. United States, and stated that var. depressa sometimes forms columnar trees to 10 m tall; Adams et al. (2016) accepted var. communis from our area. Additional problems about the status of Juniperus communis in our area remain unresolved; variation in growth form, morphologic characters, and habitat suggest the possibility of the presence of several native taxa. See Coker & Totten (1945) for additional discussion.

Other Comments: The "berry" of Juniperus communis s.l. is the juniper berry used as a spice, as well as the main flavoring of gin.

Synonymy ⓘ: = C, Can, F, FNA2, G, Il, K1, K4, Mi, NE, NS, NY, Pa, POWO, RAB, Va, W, Adams (2008b), Adams (2014), Adams (2018), Adams et al (2016); = Juniperus canadensis Lodd. ex Burgsd.; = Juniperus sibirica Burgsd. — S, S13, misapplied; < Juniperus communis L. — GrPl, Tat, WV. Basionym: Juniperus communis L. var. depressa Pursh 1814 [1813]

Links to other floras: = Juniperus communis var. depressa - FNA2

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: FACU (name change)
• Eastern Mountains and Piedmont: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Great Plains: UPL (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Midwest: UPL (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)
• Northcentral & Northeast: FACU (taxonomic split from wetland indicator species)

Heliophily ⓘ: 7