''Juniperus oxycedrus'', vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of juniper, native across the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on th ...

region from

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, north to southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, east to westernmost

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, and south to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level up to in elevation.Farjon, A. (2005). ''Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The specific epithet ''oxycedrus'' means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or '' cedrus'' of the ancient Greeks.

Description

''Juniperus oxycedrus'' is very variable in shape, forming a spreading shrub tall to a small erect

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

tall. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, long and broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproducti ...

, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, diameter, and have three or six fused scales in 1–2 whorls, three of the scales with a single

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

. The seeds are dispersed when

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen cones are yellow, long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter or early spring.Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Junipers of the World''. Trafford. As to be expected from the wide range, ''J. oxycedrus'' is very variable. One recent studyAdams, R. P. (2000). Systematics of Juniperus section Juniperus based on leaf essential oils and RAPD DNA fingerprinting. ''Biochem. Syst. Ecol''. 28: 515-52
available online (pdf file)
Adams, R. P. (2004). ''Juniperus deltoides'', a new species and nomenclatural notes on ''Juniperus polycarpos'' and ''J. turcomanica'' (Cupressaceae). ''Phytologia'' 86: 49 - 5
available online (pdf file)
splits it into three species, though other authorities do not accept this: *''Juniperus oxycedrus'' L. – Western prickly juniper. Southwest Europe, in eastern Portugal and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

east to southern

, northwest

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, Corsica, and Sardinia, and northwest Africa from Morocco east to Tunisia. Leaves long (), narrow-based; cones smooth. *''Juniperus navicularis'' Gand. (syn. ''J. oxycedrus'' subsp. ''transtagana'') – Portuguese prickly juniper. Coastal southwest Portugal. Leaves short (); cones smooth. *''Juniperus deltoides'' R.P.Adams – Eastern prickly juniper. Central Italy east to Iran and Israel. Leaves long (), broad-based; cones with raised scale edges.

Subspecies

An additional variety or subspecies ''J. oxycedrus'' var. ''badia'' H.Gay (syn. ''J. oxycedrus'' subsp. ''badia'' (H.Gay) Debeaux) is distinguished on the basis of larger cones ( diameter), tinged purple when mature; it is described from northern Algeria, and also reported from Portugal and Spain. A further species '' Juniperus macrocarpa'', confined to Mediterranean coastal sands, is more distinct but has also often been treated as a subspecies of prickly juniper, as ''J. oxycedrus'' subsp. ''macrocarpa''; it differs in the broader leaves ( wide), and larger cones ( wide). Other close relatives of ''J. oxycedrus'' include '' Juniperus brevifolia'' on the Azores, '' Juniperus cedrus'' on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Mo ...

and '' Juniperus formosana'' in eastern

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

Uses

Cade oil is the essential oil obtained through destructive distillation of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in some cosmetics and (traditional) skin treatment drugs, as well as incense. Cade oil has, on rare occasions, caused severe allergic reactions in infants. Image:Juniperus oxycedrus.jpg, Leaves and mature cones, Spain Image:Cade2.jpg, Leaves and immature cones, southern France Image:Juniperus oxycedrus 20120826 3.jpg, Central Spain Image:Juniperus oxycedrus 20120826 2.jpg, Bark, Central Spain

References

External links

''Juniperus oxycedrus''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) {{Taxonbar, from=Q184300 oxycedrus Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Trees of Mediterranean climate Least concern plants Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Dioecious plants Flora of the Mediterranean Basin