Juniperus heterocarpa Timb.-Lagr. ex Loret & Barrandon
Juniperus heterocarpa Timb.-Lagr. ex Nyman
Juniperus oxycedrina St.-Lag.
Juniperus rufescens Link nom. illeg.
Juniperus souliei Sennen
Juniperus tenella Antoine
Juniperus tremolsii Pau
Juniperus wittmanniana Fisch. ex Lindl. nom. inval.
Oxycedrus echinoformis Carrière
Oxycedrus ericoides Pandiani
Oxycedrus withmanniana Carrière
Juniperus oxycedrus, vernacularly called Cade, cade juniper, prickly juniper, prickly cedar, or sharp cedar, is a species of
juniper, native across the
Mediterranean region, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level.[3][1] The specific epithet oxycedrus means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or cedrus of the ancient Greeks.[4][5]
Description
Juniperus oxycedrus is very variable in shape, forming a spreading
shrub 2–3 metres (6+1⁄2–10 feet) tall to a small erect
tree 10–15 m (33–49 ft) tall. It has needle-like
leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5–20 millimetres (1⁄4–3⁄4 inch) long and 1–2 mm (1⁄32–3⁄32 in) broad, with a double white stomatal band (split by a green midrib) on the inner surface. It is usually
dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The
seed cones are
berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating; they are spherical, 7–12 mm (1⁄4–1⁄2 in) diameter, and have three or six fused scales in 1–2 whorls, three of the scales 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, 2–3 mm (1⁄16–1⁄8 in) long, and fall soon after shedding their pollen in late winter or early spring.[3][6][7]
Subspecies
As to be expected from the wide range, J. oxycedrus is very variable, and multiple subspecies have been recognised.[3] However, multiple studies have found the subspecies not to be closely related to one another,[6][8][9][10][11][12] resulting in the recognition of multiple species:[6][10][11][12]
Juniperus oxycedrus L. – Western prickly juniper. Southwest Europe, in eastern Portugal and
Spain east to southern
France, northwest
Italy,
Corsica, and
Sardinia, and northwest Africa from Morocco east to
Tunisia. Leaves long (10–20 mm or 3⁄8–13⁄16 in), narrow-based; cones smooth.
Juniperus navicularis Gand. (syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. transtagana) – Portuguese prickly juniper. Coastal southwest Portugal. Leaves short (5–12 mm or 3⁄16–1⁄2 in); cones smooth.
Juniperus deltoides R.P.Adams – Eastern prickly juniper. Central Italy east to Iran and Israel. Leaves long (10–20 mm or 3⁄8–13⁄16 in), broad-based; cones with raised scale edges.
Juniperus macrocarpa (syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. macrocarpa) – large-fruited juniper. Mediterranean coastal sands. Broader leaves (2–3 mm or 1⁄16–1⁄8 in wide), and larger cones (12–18 mm or 1⁄2–11⁄16 in wide).
An additional variety or subspecies J. oxycedrus var. badia H.Gay (syn. J. oxycedrus subsp. badia (H.Gay) Debeaux) is distinguished on the basis of larger cones (10–13 mm or 3⁄8–1⁄2 in diameter), tinged purple when mature; it is described from northern Algeria, and also reported from Portugal and Spain.[3][6]
Cade oil is the
essential oil obtained through destructive
distillation of the wood of this shrub. It is a dark, aromatic oil with a strong smoky smell which is used in some
cosmetics and (traditional) skin treatment drugs, as well as
incense.[13][14] Cade oil has, on rare occasions, caused severe allergic reactions in infants.[15]
^
abcdeFarjon, A. (2005). Monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
ISBN1-84246-068-4
^Meiggs, R. 1982. Trees and Timber in the Ancient Mediterranean World.
^MARIA PEPLER-HARCOMBE, ALETTA (2011). Ancient Furniture in Context: From Ancient Production, Preservation To Modern-Day Reconstruction And Conservation. South Africa: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
^Adams, R. P. (2000). Systematics of Juniperus section Juniperus based on leaf essential oils and RAPD DNA fingerprinting. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 28: 515-528
available online (pdf file)Archived 2006-03-18 at the
Wayback Machine
^Adams, R. P. (2004). Juniperus deltoides, a new species and nomenclatural notes on Juniperus polycarpos and J. turcomanica (Cupressaceae). Phytologia 86: 49 - 53
available online (pdf file)Archived 2006-03-18 at the
Wayback Machine
^
abBoratyński, A.; Wachowiak, W.; Dering, M.; Boratyńska, K; Sękiewicz, K.; Sobierajska, K.; Jasińska, A.K.; Klimko, M.; Montserrat, J.M.; Romo, A.; Ok, T.; Didukh, Y. (2014). "The biogeography and genetic relationships of Juniperus oxycedrus and related taxa from the Mediterranean and Macaronesian regions". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 174 (4): 637–653.
doi:
10.1111/boj.12147.
^
abRumeu, B.; Vargas, P.; Jaén-Molina, R.; Nogales, M.; Caujapé-Castells, J. (2014). "Phylogeography and genetic structure of the threatened Canarian Juniperus cedrus (Cupressaceae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 175 (3): 376–394.
doi:
10.1111/boj.12172.
S2CID82778706.