Common juniper
Juniperus communis
Family · Cupressaceae · Irritating
The low prickly shrub of the high sierras, with dark blue berries that take two years to ripen. They are where gin gets its flavour.
Uplands · Scrubland
Also known asjuniper
How to tell it
Needles in threes, stiff and sharp, with a clear white stripe on the upper face. Green berries in the first year and dark blue in the second, on the same plant.
What it is confused with
Prickly juniper
Juniperus oxycedrus
Prickly juniper has two white stripes on the needle instead of one, and reddish berries instead of blue. It is the southern juniper and is not used the same way.
What it is for
Ripe berries flavour gin, game and cured meats, in small amounts. A note that stays on the sheet: not used in pregnancy, and the related southern junipers are not all the same.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.
With documented traditional uses. Not a therapeutic indication and not a dose.