Trees to 30 m; crown narrowly erect (in young, fast-growing trees) to conic or occasionally round. Bark reddish brown. Branches erect, spreading, or pendulous. Scalelike leaves acute at apex. Pollen cones 3--4 mm. Seed cones globose to ovoid, 4--6(--7) mm. Seeds 2--4 mm. 2 n = 22, 33. Upland to low woods, old fields, glades, fencerows, and river swamps; 0--1400 m; Ont., Que.; Ala., Ark., Conn., Del., D.C., Fla., Ga., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kans., Ky., La., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., Miss., Mo., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Okla., Pa., R.I., S.C., S.Dak., Tenn., Tex., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis. Eastern redcedar hybridizes with the related species Juniperus horizontalis (M. Palma-Otal et al. 1983) and J . scopulorum (C. W. Comer et al. 1982). Reported hybridization with J . ashei has been refuted in subsequent studies (R. P. Adams 1977). The wood of Juniperus virginiana is used for production of eastern redcedarwood oil, fenceposts, and cedar chests.
Tree 10 - 20 m tall Leaves: scale-like or needle-like, green to bluish or yellowish green, persisting for five to six years. Scale-like leaves are common on older trees and are overlapping, 2 - 4 mm long, egg-shaped with pointed to rounded tip and may have glands on the back. Needle-like leaves are common on young trees and quickly growing shoots of older trees and are borne in lose whorls of two to three, often with white lines above, 5 - 7 mm long with a spiny tip. Foliage sometimes turning bronze to yellowish brown in winter. Bark: light reddish brown, peeling in narrow shredded strips. Twigs: bluish green to reddish brown, smooth. Buds: very small, hidden by the leaves. Form: pyramidal to occasionally rounded with a dense crown. Cones: unisexual, with separate pollen and seed cones produced on different plants (dioecious), rarely on the same tree (monoecious), near tips of branches. Pollen cones: 2.5 - 3 mm long, oblong to egg-shaped, with four to six scales, each scale containing four to five spherical yellow pollen sacs. Seed cones: made of thick bluish scales fusing to become nearly spherical and berry-like, borne on short straight stalks near ends of branches, green changing to dark blue with a whitish waxy coating (glaucous), 5 - 7 mm in diameter, maturing in one season, resinous, each containing one or two egg-shaped seeds. Pollination occurs in April.
Similar species: Juniperus virginiana also has a more southern variety, Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola, that grows along the southeastern coast of the United States. It has a flat-topped crown, smaller seed cones, and larger pollen cones than our variety.
Habitat and ecology: Old dune slopes along Lake Michigan, other dry and sunny dune slopes, along sandstone rocky cliffs, in sloping pastures and along fences. Birds disperse seed from cultivated plants, making escapes quite common.
Occurence in the Chicago region: native
Notes: Although the common name is eastern red cedar, this species is not a true cedar (Cedrus sp.). The wood of J. virginiana is used to make fence posts, pencils, shingles, and log cabins. A scented oil in the wood is disliked by moths, so the wood is commonly used in closets and clothing chests. Seed cones are used to flavor gin. This species is a host for cedar-apple, -hawthorn, and -quince rust diseases. It hybridizes with J. horizontalis.
Etymology: Juniperus is the Latin name for juniper. Virginiana means "from Virginia."