Medicinal Monday Juniperus californica

The aromatic evergreen trees and shrubs of the genus Juniperus consist of 76 varieties that grow in the Northern Hemisphere. This genus is in the cypress family. All juniper species bear small seed cones called berries which are used for producing gin. Juniperus californica is a shrub or small tree that is native to America's southwest. Many Native American communities in that area found many interesting ways to use this evergreen medicinally.

About Juniperus californica

This variety of juniperus grows up to 26 feet high and is mainly found in numerous California habitats although its range extends into Baja, southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean. In California, it is found in the Peninsular, California, and Transverse Ranges, in the Sacramento Valley, Sierra Nevada, and in the Mojave Desert ranges. The bark is ashy grey and has a shredded appearance. The shoots are fairly thick compared to other junipers.  The foliage is bluish-gray and scale-like. The juvenile leaves on the seedlings are needle-like and grow in whorls of three. The adult leaves are scale-like and grow to 5 millimeters on lead shoots. The blue-brown berry-like cones have a whitish-waxy bloom and usually contain a single seed. The male cones are 2-4 millimeters long and shed their pollen in early spring. It is largely dioecious producing cones of only one sex, but around 2% of plants are monoecious, with both sexes on the same plant.

Culinary and Medicinal Uses

Many Native American communities ate the berries fresh or dried the berries in the sun to preserve them for future use. The Cahuilia would grind the dried berries into flour and make mush or bread from the mixture. The Kawaiisu seeded the berries and pounded them into a meal, then molded them into cakes and dried them for future use. The Mendocino dried the fruit and then boiled it when they wanted to eat it. They also used the wood of this tree to make mush stirrers, ladles, and bows for hunting. 

Many tribes used an infusion of leaves to treat a variety of ailments. The Apache and the Gosiute for example,  made an infusion of leaves to treat colds and coughs. They also gave this infusion to pregnant women as an aid to help relax their muscles. The Costanoan made a decoction of the leaves to treat pain and to cause sweating. The Diegueno made an infusion of leaves and bark and drank this mixture to treat hangovers and high blood pressure. The Mahuna made an infusion of the berries or chewed them raw to cure fevers.

Did You Know...

Juniper is associated with protection and fortune making it the perfect herb to usher in the new year.

The juniper tree's name is derived from the Latin word Juniperus which is a combination of the word junio which means young and parere meaning youth or evergreen.

Juniperus Californica provides food and shelter for turkeys and deer and is a host for the sequoia sphinx moth.

Other names for California juniper are white cedar, sweetberry cedar, Huata cedro, white cedar, and Cedros Island juniper.

Juniperus California is closely related to the Utah Juniper, J. osteosperma.