Juniperus communis L.
Berkshire common juniper, common juniper, ground juniper
Common juniper is native to North America, Europe, and Asia.
Plants: Juniper is a woody shrub less than 13′ (4 m) high, or small tree, rarely reaching 33′ (10 m). Its multiple stems tend to be gnarled and uneven, sometimes lying almost flat.
Leaves: Needles are gray-green to blue-green in color, sometimes appearing silvery.
Fruits: Male cones are 1/16–⅛″ (2–3 mm) long, and yellow. Berry-like cones, called juniper berries, are roughly spherical in shape, ⅛–⅜″ (4–12 mm) in diameter, blue-black, with a waxy sheen. Each scale of the cone is a single seed, dispersed when birds eat and carry them elsewhere.
Habitats: The entire temperate circumpolar region of the Northern Hemisphere.
Edibility: Juniper berries are bitter, but sometimes used dried and crushed to flavor meats and sauces.
Juniper berries (or cones), from Yellowstone National Park. Photographer is unknown. 
From Thomé, Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm, Flora von Deutschland Österreich und der Schweiz., 1885. 
Online References:
5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (50 × 39 cm) 
9/29/2013 · North Bubble Hike, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (79 × 53 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 7 × 10″ (16 × 25 cm) 
8/26/2017 · Skatutakee Mountain, Hancock, New Hampshire · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 10 × 7″ (25 × 16 cm) 
5/7/2016 · Long Cove Cottages, Tenant’s Harbor, Maine 
4/3/2010 · Mt. Battie (Elev. 780'), Camden, Maine · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (15 × 22 cm) 
4/3/2010 · Owl’s Head Lighthouse, Owl’s Head, Maine · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm) 
9/16/2016 · Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Tr, Bar Harbor, Maine 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Coniferophyta | Conifers—cone-bearing trees (and a few shrubs) |
| Class | Pinopsida | Gymnosperms such as cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews |
| Order | Pinales | Cone-bearing plants: cedar, cypress, fir, juniper, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, yew, and others |
| Family | Cupressaceae | Cypres family, including junipers and redwoods |
| Genus | Juniperus | Latin for “juniper” |
| Species | communis | Latin for “common, general,” means growing in communities |
Juniperus communis description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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