1Up Info - A Portal with a Difference

1Up Travel - A Travel Portal with a Difference.    
1Up Info
   

Earth & EnvironmentHistoryLiterature & ArtsHealth & MedicinePeoplePlacesPlants & Animals  • Philosophy & Religion  • Science & TechnologySocial Science & LawSports & Everyday Life Wildlife, Animals, & PlantsCountry Study Encyclopedia A -Z
North America Gazetteer


You are here >1Up Info > Wildlife, Animals, and Plants > Plant Species > Shrub > Species: Juniperus virginiana | Eastern Redcedar
 

Wildlife, Animals, and Plants

 


Wildlife, Animals, and Plants

 

Wildlife Species

  Amphibians

  Birds

  Mammals

  Reptiles

 

Kuchler

 

Plants

  Bryophyte

  Cactus

  Fern or Fern Ally

  Forb

  Graminoid

  Lichen

  Shrub

  Tree

  Vine


BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

SPECIES: Juniperus virginiana | Eastern Redcedar
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : Eastern redcedar is a variable, small to medium-sized tree or shrub which ranges from 20 to 100 feet (6.1-30 m) in height at maturity [6,39,46,101]. Plants tend to be much smaller on drier sites and seldom attain heights of more than 20 or 30 feet (6.1-9 m) on shallow soils [6,61]. Eastern redcedar has a dense crown [76] and assumes a narrowly pyramidal or columnar shape [44]. Old individuals are often characterized by an open, irregular crown [44]. Maximum longevity has been estimated at 300 years [57]. The reddish-brown branches are slender and ascending [40,44]. The thin, fibrous, reddish-brown to grayish bark exfoliates in narrow strips [25,40]. Roots are fibrous [54] and may reach depths of 5 to 10 feet (1.5-3 m) [5]. Leaves on young growth are sharp and awl shaped, and generally occur in whorls of three [30,90]. Mature foliage is scalelike and opposite or overlapping [30,90]. The yellowish-green to bluish-green leaves are extremely variable [40,71]. Eastern redcedar is dioecious or, more rarely, monocecious [88]. Yellowish-brown staminate cones occur in abundance at the tips of small twigs [40,71]. The berrylike pistillate cones are borne on axillary branches of new scale leaves [39,40,54]. Pistillate cones are glaucous, dark blue or bluish-purple, and 0.2 to 0.3 inch (4-7 mm) in diameter [40]. Each cone contains one to four rounded or angled, smooth, brown to yellowish-brown seeds [40,54]. Important distinctions between recognized varieties are summarized below [13,32]: var. virginiana - seeds deeply pitted, broad pyramidal form var. crebra - seeds shallowly pitted, columnar form var. ambigens - matted shrub with creeping or somewhat ascending stems RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : Phanerophyte REGENERATION PROCESSES : Eastern redcedar regenerates through seed [11]. Mature plants produce some seed annually, and large seed crops are produced every 2 to 3 years [46,54]. Average age of first reproduction has been estimated at 25 years, although some individuals produce seed as early as 10 years of age [57]. Seed dispersal: Seed is dispersed by gravity and by a wide variety of birds and mammals [46]. Many junipers rely on avian winter frugivores for seed dispersal [81]. Birds may be effective in promoting some long-distance dispersal, but most bird-dispersed seed is dropped less than 66 feet (20 m) from the parent tree [60]. Herds of cattle can disperse seed into adjacent grasslands [91] and can aid in "planting" juniper seeds, as trampling disturbs the top layers of soil. Germination: Juniper seeds have a thick impermeable seed coat, and exhibit both seed coat and chemical dormancy [77]. Germination is generally enhanced by warm moist stratification (75 degrees Fahrenheit [23 deg C] for 6 weeks) followed by cold moist stratification (41 degrees Fahrenheit [5 deg C] for 10 weeks) [77]. Properly stored seed can remain viable for long periods of time [46,67]. Stratified seed generally begins germinating 6 to 10 days after planting, and germination continues for 4 to 5 weeks. Under natural conditions, seeds may germinate during the first or second spring. However, most seed germinates during the early spring of the 2nd year after dispersal [54]. Seedling establishment: Seedlings often establish along fence rows as a result of bird dispersal. On dry sites, seedlings establish in rock crevices or in other moist protected microsites [54]. Eastern redcedar seedlings are tolerant of drought [11] but exhibit slow initial growth. Severe competition greatly increases early seedling mortality [54]. SITE CHARACTERISTICS : Eastern redcedar grows on exposed rock outcrops, bluffs, cliffs, stable dunes, in thin-soiled glades or barrens, and in dry woodlands [54,62,90,93,100]. It commonly invades abandoned fields, pastures, prairie hillsides, and disturbed forests [35,40]. Eastern redcedar also grows on relatively moist sites such as along lakeshores and streambanks, in swamps, river bottoms, and alluvial woods, on natural levees, shell mounds, and on moist to wet hammocks [39,54,82,90]. It grows on ridgetops, slopes, and flatlands [54] but is most common on west- or north-facing slopes or in protected cooler stream bottoms at the drier western edge of its range [88]. Plant communities: Eastern redcedar commonly forms pure stands on abandoned agricultural lands, drier uplands, and in thin-soiled "glades" [54,88]. It is a constituent of various pine-hardwood, mixed hardwood, post oak (Quercus stellata) savanna, prairie, and plains grassland communities [96,97]. Plant associates: Trees - In the South, eastern redcedar commonly grows with shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata), Virginia pine (P. virginiana), and numerous hardwoods [54]. In Southern cedar glades, winged elm (Ulmus alata), blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica), Carolina buckthorn (Rhamnus caroliniana), and rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum) commonly occur with eastern redcedar [41,54]. Eastern redcedar is associated with northern red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak (Q. alba), hickories (Carya spp.), black walnut (Juglans nigrum), and many other hardwoods in the central and eastern portions of its range [54]. Gray birch (Betula populifolia), red maple (Acer rubrum), and aspen (Populus tremuloides) are common associates in the Northeast, while cottonwoods (Populus spp.), willows (Salix spp.), blackjack oak, post oak, and chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) frequently grow with eastern redcedar in the Great Plains [23,49]. Understory - Numerous herb and shrubby species grow with this widespread species in the East and Northeast [88]. Fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), Alabama supplejack (Berchemia scandens), little bluestem (Shcizachryium scoparium), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii), dropseed (Sporobolus spp.), and switchgrass (Panicum spp.) are common understory associates in cedar glades of the South [41,53]. Black-seed ricegrass (Oryzopsis micrantha), poison-ivy (Toxocodendron rydbergii), and American pasqueflower (Anemone patens) often occur with eastern redcedar in parts of the Great Plains [23,40]. Soils: Eastern redcedar grows on a wide range of soils but generally exhibits best development on deep, well-drained alluvial soils derived from limestone [6,44,61]. It is also capable of growing on poor, rocky sites with shallow soils [44]. Competition often limits its growth on better sites [54]. Eastern redcedar occurs on sandy, silty, or clayey loam, loamy sand, or heavy clay [40,76,83,88]. Soils are often high in calcium, with limited soil moisture and nutrients [14]. Soils may be saturated in the spring but droughty by fall [90]. Parent materials include limestone, dolomite, quartzite, shale, granite, sandstone, and gypsum [34,66,83,88,91]. Soil pH ranges from 4.7 to 7.8 [54], but eastern redcedar most commonly occurs on neutral or slightly alkaline soils. It is fairly intolerant of strongly alkaline soils [54]; growth may be slow on acidic soils [17]. Climate: Eastern redcedar is adapted to a wide climatic range [88] but commonly grows under a dry continental climatic regime [49]. Average annual precipitation ranges from 15 inches (38 cm) in the Great Plains to more than 60 inches (152.4 cm) in the Southeast [54,88]. Summer precipitation may be more limiting than average annual precipitation [54]. Summer temperatures are often high, and winter temperatures quite low [99]. Temperatures may drop to -40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 deg C) in Minnesota and the central Great Plains and climb to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 deg C) in the central and southern Great Plains [88]. The growing season ranges from 120 days in the Dakotas to 250 days in the southern Coastal Plain [88]. Elevation: Eastern redcedar generally occurs between 100 feet (30 m) and 3,500 feet (1,070 m) in elevation [54]. In the southern and eastern portions of its range, eastern redcedar is restricted to elevations above 100 feet (30 m). In western Nebraska and Kansas, it grows from sea level to more than 5,000 feet (1-1,524 m) in elevation [88]. SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : Eastern redcedar is a pioneer on many types of disturbed, unburned sites [91,103] and persists in certain dry, harsh climax stands [14]. On well-drained bottomland sites, eastern redcedar is an initial colonizer but is soon replaced by species such as common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum) [88]. In the upper Mississippi Valley, more shade-tolerant species such as northern red oak may enter the canopy as eastern redcedar is eliminated [11]. Eastern redcedar is typically a successional species on rolling upland sites [14]. However, succession to hardwoods may proceed very slowly on drier sites [88]. In many areas, stands begin to deteriorate at age 60 as competing hardwoods begin to shade out eastern redcedar [54]. Scattered individuals or small groups of eastern redcedar may survive in a suppressed state beneath hardwoods for a fairly long period [88]. Suppressed redcedars may resume growth as decadent hardwoods fall, and the canopy opens [91]. Eastern redcedar forms long-lived, stable communities in the Interior Low Plateau, Limestone Valley, and Upland Soils Provinces at the central portion of its range. These communities have alternately been described as climax or subclimax [14]. It also forms stable communities on thin-soiled, rocky glades in the Ozarks [54,61] and along the Mississippi River from Missouri to Minnesota [14]. Old-field communities: Eastern redcedar is a woody invader on abandoned agricultural lands and in certain rolling hill prairies in which fire suppression has brought about vegetative changes [11,88]. It is characteristic of successional stages in many old-field communities [65] and is often one of the first trees to invade these communities [6]. Eastern redcedar is particularly common on abandoned fields that are not burned or grazed [99]. In central New Jersey, seedlings were observed by the 3rd year after abandonment, and establishment continued through the 12th year [60]. Elsewhere it may be associated with later or "advanced stages" in old-field succession [80]. No seedlings were observed during the first 8 years after abandonment in New Jersey old-field communities, and seedlings were first noted in year 14 [73]. In old-field communities of Massachusetts and Connecticut, eastern redcedar and gray birch initially dominate early successional stages but are eventually replaced by white oak, black oak, northern red oak, red maple, black birch, and hickory [75]. White ash (Fraxinus americana) may replace eastern redcedar in old-field communities in parts of New York [75]. SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : Cambial growth occurs from May to July [41]. Pollen forms in staminate conelets by late September; staminate cones mature during winter [54]. Ovulate cones develop by late summer or early fall but grow little over the winter and do not become conspicuous until late February or early spring. Pollination occurs from mid-February to March, depending on location, and is completed within just a few days [54]. Maturation of cones takes an average of 162.3 days [81]; cones generally mature from late July to November [54]. In the central part of its range, cones generally mature by September [88]. Fruit ripening is generally 1 month later in New England than in Texas [88]. Seasonal variation of up to 2 weeks has been observed in Massassachusetts [88]. Phenological development by geographic location is as follows: (1) Northeast: plants flower from mid-March to mid-May; fruit ripens from September to November; and seed dispersal occurs from February to March [46]. (2) New England: fruit ripens in late July [78]. (3) southeastern U.S.: plants flower from January to April [25]. (4) Blue Ridge: plants flower from January to March [93]. (5) North and South Carolina: plants flower January to March; fruit ripens from October to November [71]. (6) Kansas: seed dispersal occurs from September 6 to March 27 [81]. (7) northern Great Plains: plants flower in April; fruit ripens in September [82]. (8) Great Plains: plants flower from April to May [40.

Related categories for Species: Juniperus virginiana | Eastern Redcedar

Send this page to a friend
Print this Page

Content on this web site is provided for informational purposes only. We accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by any person resulting from information published on this site. We encourage you to verify any critical information with the relevant authorities.

Information Courtesy: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. Fire Effects Information System

About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy | Links Directory
Link to 1Up Info | Add 1Up Info Search to your site

1Up Info All Rights reserved. Site best viewed in 800 x 600 resolution.