Eastern Red Cedar

 Juniperus virginiana

Identification Information

Date: Sunday, June 13, 2021

Time:  5:35 p.m.

Location:  Hunsicker’s Grove (9350 Longswamp Road, Mertztown, PA 19539)

Habitat:  Temperate Mixed Forest, dominated by Hickory-Oak

Weather conditions:  75 degrees Fahrenheit, slightly humid, cloudy skies

The leaves of Eastern Red Cedar look slightly different when they are first growing compared to when they are older.  Young foliage is covered all over with scaled needles.  As the tree gets older, more of the actual branch shows.  Needles grow in alternate pairs.  You can see the beginnings of seed cones which look like berries.

(Brockman, 1986, p. 64)

This particular tree was, perhaps, 40 feet tall with a trunk of about a foot diameter.  It was growing in the shade.  One common place to find Eastern Red Cedars is limestone hills.  Lo and behold, this land use to be a limestone quarry!  The bark is reddish-brown and fibrous.

  

Juniperus virginiana. (2021, May 3). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 15, 2021, from 

     https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniperus_virginiana