Stats

Lifespan: 100-200 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Boreal forest
Range: Northern Hemisphere
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Common

About

Common juniper holds the record for the widest natural range of any woody plant, spanning the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic tundra to mountain slopes in North Africa. Its blue-black berry-like cones are the defining botanical ingredient that gives gin its characteristic flavour.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Cupressaceae
Genus: Juniperus
Species: Juniperus communis