Eastern Red Cedar Tree

The Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is one of the two (tree) species required for the life cycle of the fungus Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae, and the cause of cedar-apple rust. It is an impressive looking fungus and I’ll look for a sample in the spring. The red slime is hard to miss when you see it. The Eastern Red Cedar Tree grows like a weed through fields. I’ve watched several area fields transform, over the years, from prairies into Cedar groves. It is a fragrant juniper and a hardy tree. The Eastern red cedar has both scale like (mature) (as my picture shows) and awl shaped (juvenile) needles that are typically dark bluish-green in the summer before taking on a reddish hue during the winter months. The cones are rather unusual are are more often than not, described as juniper berries. The red hues in the cedar’s wood are often prized by woodworkers and the aromatic cedar has been used in many cedar chests! I was told (when I was very young) that the choice of cedar wood used in chests was to discourage moths from eating the linens.