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

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arc ...

, 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 ...

region from

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

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

, north to southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 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 Turkmeni ...

, 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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

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 ''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae (subfamily Abietoideae). They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500 ...

'' of the ancient Greeks.

Description

''Juniperus oxycedrus'' is very variable in shape, forming a spreading

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from tree ...

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 A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

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 A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

-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 Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

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 Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

, and northwest Africa from Morocco east to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

. 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 ''Juniperus macrocarpa'' (large-fruited juniper, syn. ''J. oxycedrus'' subsp. ''macrocarpa'' (Sibth. & Sm.) Ball) is a species of juniper, native across the northern Mediterranean region from southwestern Spain east to western Turkey and Cyprus, ...

'', 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 ''Juniperus brevifolia'', the Azores juniper, is a species of juniper, endemic to the Azores (on Corvo, Faial, Flores, Pico, Santa Maria, São Jorge, São Miguel, and Terceira), where it occurs at altitudes of , rarely up to . It is closely ...

'' on the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

, '' Juniperus cedrus'' on the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

and ''

Juniperus formosana ''Juniperus formosana'', the Formosan juniper, is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is a shrub or tree to tall, found in China (from Tibet in the west to Zhejiang in the east) and in Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Repu ...

'' 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 are ...

Uses

Cade oil is the

essential oil An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile (easily evaporated at normal temperatures) chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the o ...

obtained through destructive

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the he ...

of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in some

cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...

and (traditional) skin treatment drugs, as well as

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

. 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 European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe. The programme’s tasks include to coordinate and promote '' in situ'' an ...

(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