Category:Juniper

Ju"ni*per, n. Etym: [L. juniperus, prop., youth-producing, and so called from its evergreen appearance, from the roots of E. juvenile, and parent. Cf. Gin the liquor.] (Bot.)

Defn: Any evergreen shrub or tree, of the genus Juniperus and order Coniferæ.

Note: The common juniper (J. communis) is a shrub of a low, spreading form, having awl-shaped, rigid leaves in whorls of threes, and bearing small purplish blue berries (or galbuli), of a warm, pungent taste, used as diuretic and in flavoring gin. A resin exudes from the bark, which has erroneously been considered identical with sandarach, and is used as pounce. The oil of juniper is acrid, and used for various purposes, as in medicine, for making varnish, etc. The wood of several species is of a reddish color, hard and durable, and is used in cabinetwork under the names of red cedar, Bermuda cedar, etc. Juniper worm (Zoöl.), the larva of a geometrid moth (Drepanodes varus). It feeds upon the leaves of the juniper, and mimics the small twigs both in form and color, in a remarkable manner.

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---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Juniper - (Heb. rothem ), called by the Arabs retem, and known as Spanish broom; ranked under the genus genista. It is a desert shrub, and abounds in many parts of Palestine. In the account of his journey from Akabah to Jerusalem, Dr. Robinson says: "This is the largest and most conspicuous shrub of these deserts, growing thickly in the water-courses and valleys. Our Arabs always selected the place of encampment, if possible, in a spot where it grew, in order to be sheltered by it at night from the wind; and during the day, when they often went on in advance of the camels, we found them not infrequently sitting or sleeping under a bush of retem to shelter them from the sun. It was in this very desert, a day's journey from Beersheba, that the prophet Elijah lay down and slept beneath the same shrub" (1 Kings 19:4, 1 Kings 19:5). It afforded material for fuel, and also in cases of extremity for human food (Psalms 120:4; Job 30:4). One of the encampments in the wilderness of Paran is called Rithmah, i.e., "place of broom" (Numbers 33:18). "The Bedawin of Sinai still burn this very plant into a charcoal which throws out the most intense heat."