Family: cypresses (Cupressaceae)
Bloom time: March–May
Size: up to 12 m
Habitat: sunny forests and meadows in overgrowth
Common juniper (Juniperus communis) is an erect evergreen shrub. Its woody stem is branched from the base to the top. It is clad with protruding, stiff and spiny needle-like leaves, which are typically arranged in threes per whorl. Along the middle on the underside of the leaf runs a broad, whitish stripe. The fruits of juniper are called juniper berries, but in fact they are cones. Juniper is, after all, a gymnosperm (like yew, spruce or pine), the fruits characteristic of which are called cones. Juniper cones are turquoise in their first year, when the next year they ripen, they become dark blue to almost black. Because juniper is a dioecious plant, only male flowers develop on one plant, and only female flowers on another; therefore on some shrubs we will search for fruits in vain. Common juniper grows on barren dry soils in sunny locations throughout Slovenia. People make juniper brandy from juniper berries or add them to dishes as a spice; common juniper is also used to relieve abdominal pain and digestive problems.
