Juniperus virginiana, L.

Form.—Height 30-40 feet, diameter 1-2 feet; crown pyramidal or rounded, often irregular, dense.

Leaves.—Opposite, of two kinds: (1) scale-like overlapping one-sixteenth inch long, (2) awl-shaped, ¼-½ inch long, less common than the other form.

Flowers.—April-May; dioecious, or occasionally monoecious; in small lateral catkins.

Fruit.—A berry-like strobile, maturing in autumn, about ¼ inch in diameter, dark blue with white bloom, sweet and resinous.

Bark.—Thin, peeling off in long strips, reddish-brown.

Wood.—Light, soft, fragrant, close-grained, very durable, red, with whitish sapwood.

Range.—Nova Scotia and Ontario, south to Florida and Texas.

Distribution in West Virginia.—Occasionally found in Randolph, Tucker, Upshur, Pocahontas, Webster, Barbour, Harrison, Taylor, Lewis, and in the mountainous parts of Nicholas, Greenbrier, Grant, Preston and Monongalia counties. A scattered growth throughout the western and southern hilly counties. Plentiful in Jefferson, Berkeley, Morgan, Hampshire, and in parts of Gilmer, Calhoun and Putnam counties.

Habitat.—Prefers rough limestone soils and dry hillsides, but grows in a variety of soils and situations.

Notes.—This species is valued on account of its durable wood and attractive appearance. During the past two or three years many red cedars have been destroyed in the eastern section of the State in order to stamp out apple rust which exists in one of its stages upon this tree.