Cedar Berries - Juniper Berries

These are the berries of the eastern red cedar tree - Juniperus virginiana.   They're so pretty - especially this time of year when all the leaves are down.

I did a search for information on the uses of the berries and discovered that many places sell cedar berries - but it's a different cedar, Juniperus monosperma.  

So, I did another search and found that some people do indeed eat/use berries from both the eastern red cedar [Juniperus virginiana] and the southern red cedar [Juniperus silicicola]. 

Note:  According to this site from the University of Florida, some botanists don't make a distinction between  J. virginiana and J. silicicola.   

People seem to think they're OK when used as a flavoring [for gin, meat, sauerbraten], but not eaten in bunches. 

Eggs in a Nest

This is a mourning dove's nest.  They make lousy nests in dumb places.  This one was in a cedar tree (good place) right next to the path (bad place) and every time we walked by, it scared the bird out of it.  Eventually she abandoned it with these two eggs in it.  The eggs were gone a couple of days later

Eastern Red Cedar

I love the blue berries of the eastern red cedar tree - Juniperus virginiana.   It's a very useful tree, but very invasive.    Landowners of prairie grasslands will ruthlessly eradicate any start they find.   

Out here we let it grow.   I like the evergreen and it provides good wood for burning and building.  

I love the berries and use them for winter decorating.   They're prickly branches, but they smell so good!

Here's an interesting site with more information about this tree. 

Cedar and Rosehips

Happy Thanksgiving! 

These are rosehips of our wild multiflora roses. That's the native red cedar in the background.  I liked these colors and textures together and thought you might, too.  They make great decorations!

Cedar-Apple Rust Revisited

So, you remember last fall when we found those little brain-y looking things in our cedar trees?    We picked them off the cedars whenever we found them.   We missed this tree.

This is what happens in the Spring, when it's warm and rainy.   They turn into orange blobby things. 

I was walking up to the hives and saw this.   

Pretty, in a weird kinda way.  Like orange Christmas ornaments.

Here's a better look at the clusters.    There were a lot on this tree.  

Here's a good look at the 'bloom'.   These were easily as big as your fist.

We saw them on cedars down the road, too.

No apples on this place this year.

We've got three apple trees and this might be a good year to take out the two little ones and plant something else.   We'll keep the big one for shade.

Cedar - Apple Rust

Our cedars get weird parasites.    Once in a while we get bagworms.     This year I noticed some weird galls.

They look like brains.

I looked them up and the news is not good.

They are the cedar-apple rust.    They start in cedars, and then in the warm spring rain, they sprout orange jelly-like 'hairs' out of each dimple.   The rust sends out spores looking for apple trees, which we have.   This might explain why we've never had good luck with apples.    Ever. 

Check out this site for some other good pics of this fungus.   

Now I'm going to have to decide whether or not to cut down those cedars or to cut down the apples [two of which aren't bearing anyway].     Feel free to weigh in.

Juniperus virginiana

Cedar trees.

Red cedar trees.

They pop up in uncultivated fields and along our roadsides.

They're evergreen and I love that.    We're surrounded by hardwood forests and they change a lot through the year.   The cedars give us some continuity.

They don't drop their leaves, they just get bigger.

One of the big questions we had was whether we have the eastern red cedar, or the southern red cedar.

Ours are upright and columnar. 

Except when they've been hacked by the county bush hog, which chops off everything at just above fence height.   Those cedars start to sprawl - but if left alone, they would have been upright and columnar.

Upright and columnar indicates that we have the eastern variety - Juniperus virginiana.

The southern variety is sprawling and irregular.   There is some debate whether it is another species entirely or a subspecies of Juniperus virginiana  [sp. silicicola].

Our cedars have beautiful blue berries.   The birds eat them and spread the seeds around. 

Sound familiar?   That's how we got so many elaeagnus trees, too.

The county bush hog just mangled some and we found the cuttings on the road.   I'm thinking they'll make pretty wreathes.