Temple Juniper

It is a shrub or small tree growing to a height of 20 to 33 feet and a trunk diameter up to 20 inches . The leaves are evergreen, needle-like, in whorls of three, bright green to yellowish-green, one half to one inch long and .05 inch broad, with a single white stomatal band on the inner surface. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to dark purple or brownish with a variable whitish waxy coating; they are spherical, 5-9 mm diameter, and have three fused scales in one whorls of three, each with a single seed . The seeds are dispersed when birds eat the cones, digesting the fleshy scales and passing the hard seeds in their droppings. The pollen cones are yellow, 3-5 mm long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in spring.

Juniperus rigida (Temple Juniper) is a species of juniper, native to northern China, Korea, Japan, and the far southeast of Russia (Primorsky Krai), occurring at altitudes of 10-2,200 m. It is closely related to Juniperus communis (Common Juniper) and Juniperus conferta (Shore Juniper), the latter sometimes treated as a variety or subspecies of J. rigida. Tree It is a shrub or small tree growing to a height of 6–10 m and a trunk diameter up to 50 cm. More

Juniperus rigida at RBG Edinburgh, showing fairly pendulous foliage. More

no Toxicity precautions Medicinal notes Juniperus rigida has been traditionally used as a diuretic. More