2020

Juniper – One of the Oldest Woody Plants on Our Planet

Two species of woody plants grow in Latvia – juniper and English yew – and they look quite similar at the first glance. They both belong to the pine class; they both are evergreen plants. Nature researcher Ilmārs Tīrmanis offers an opportunity to learn more about them. This time, it is a story about juniper.

Juniper (Juniperus communis) belongs to the cypress family. The “common juniper” or “Swedish juniper” grows in the Baltic region.

Juniper is one of the oldest woody plants on our planet. This species has been able to survive on Earth for millions of years. Members of this species are known for their toughness, especially frost resistance.

Growing conditions

The ancient plant prefers open areas, because it likes light, and, although it is able to exist in the shade of other trees, juniper withers, if lighting is insufficient. Even those junipers that grow on edges of sparse coniferous forests, are not very lush. These plants, which tend to form a fairly extensive root system, feel fine in poor soils and do not shy away from dry, sandy and rocky places. At the same time – junipers can also grow in swampy forests.

Junipers can grow both individually and in groups. In some places, they also form large stands outside forests. Junipers usually develop thicker and healthier in monoculture stands outside forest. They also grow vigorously alone or in smaller groups on forest edges and in sunny, dry fields in the forest, as well as in other open areas.

Junipers can be spotted in Latvia relatively often. It should be noted that the majority of them grow relatively small in size – only up to 10 metres high. More often, bush-shaped juniper specimens are formed with different stem and crown shapes. More distinct specimens have a straight trunk, but their crown is cylindrical or conical.

The surface of both the trunk and branches of each juniper is ribbed. Its wood is hard, dense, brownish and fragrant. The colour of the flaky bark varies from yellowish brown to greyish brown.

Phytoncide-rich juniper needles are sharp, lancetic, almost triangular, 1 to 1.5 (2) centimetres long, less than a millimetre wide. They are arranged in whorls of three. Needles remain on the branches for 4-5 years.

April, the month of juniper pollination

Juniper has both male and female specimens. Male genitals – yellow, small cones. Once pollen is scattered, they die.

Female genitals or female cones are somewhat similar to scaly buds. If pollination is happening, then juniper`s female genital cover scales collapse, become juicy and grow together, thus creating a symmetrical triangular opening at the end of each newly formed juicy juniper berry.

In each of the juniper berry, hidden in the pulp, three angular seeds develop. If you look closely at the juniper berry, you will see these seeds. Juniper berries ripen for a long time, seeds develop only in late autumn of the next year or even in the year after. As they ripen, juniper berries turn dark blue, have a matte plaque and become larger, fragrant. Due to the long development process, both the green cones of the first year and the blue cones of the second and third years can be found on one and the same branch. And they often include the very old – already crinkled, brown – juniper berries. On juniper female specimens there can be up to three different juniper berries at the same time.

More than 130 secular junipers

Juniper stands out with its significant lifespan, which can exceed several hundreds of years. If the height of a juniper that grows in Latvia exceeds 11 metres or the circumference of its trunk reaches 80 cm at the height of 1.3 metres, it is considered as a secular tree. More than 130 secular junipers grow in Latvia.

Rieteklis (Baloži) Juniper that grows in Valmiera Rural Territory, and has been neatly fenced by people, is the oldest and biggest juniper in the Baltics and one of the largest in Europe. Its trunk circumference significantly exceeds three metres. The name of the secular tree was once given in honour of the poet Jūlijs Eduards Balodis (with a pseudonym Rieteklis), who was born and lived in this house near Baloži. This dendrological beauty was taken in protection already back in 1930.