Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red-cedar, Red Cedar, Eastern Juniper, Red Juniper, Pencil Cedar) is a dense slow-growing tree that may never become more than a bush on
poor soil, but is ordinarily from 5–20 m/16–66 ft (rarely to 27 m/89 ft)
tall, with a short trunk 30–100 cm/12–39 in (rarely 170 cm/67 in)
diameter. The oldest tree reported, from Missouri, was 795 years old.
The bark is reddish-brown, fibrous, and peels off in narrow strips. The
leaves are of two types; sharp, spreading needle-like juvenile leaves
5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long, and tightly adpressed scale-like adult leaves
2–4 mm (0.079–0.16 in) long; they are arranged in opposite decussate
pairs or occasionally whorls of three. The juvenile leaves are found on
young plants up to 3 years old, and as scattered shoots on adult trees,
usually in shade. The seed cones are 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) long,
berry-like with fleshy scales, dark purple-blue with a white wax cover
giving an overall sky-blue color (though the wax often rubs off); they
contain one or two (rarely up to four)
seeds, and are mature in 6–8
months from pollination. They are an important winter food for many
birds, which disperse the wingless seeds. The pollen cones are 2–3 mm
(0.079–0.12 in) long and 1.5 mm (0.059 in) broad, shedding pollen in
late winter or early spring. The trees are usually dioecious, with
pollen and seed cones on separate trees.
