Juniper
Juniperus communis
The berry that made gin. The smoke that cleared temples. The bush that hid the prophet.
Overview
Juniper is the plant that flavours gin — the word derives from the Dutch jenever, from the Latin juniperus — and this association has so thoroughly consumed its modern reputation that the rest of the plant's history has been largely forgotten. Before gin, juniper was burned in temples and sick rooms to purify the air. Its smoke was used in shamanic and ritual contexts across Siberia, the American Southwest, and northern Europe. The berries flavoured ale before hops, preserved meat, and were chewed as a digestive. The plant itself is a low, prickly, sprawling conifer of chalk downland and northern moorland, one of only three native conifers in Britain, and now among the most threatened — its population has declined by over half in the last century for reasons that are not fully understood.
Botanical Notes
A variable, evergreen coniferous shrub or small tree reaching 30cm to 10 metres, with needle-like leaves in whorls of three, sharply pointed and blue-green with a silver band above. The "berries" are technically fleshy cones — green in the first year, ripening to blue-black in the second or third year, both stages often present simultaneously. Strongly aromatic throughout. Found on chalk downland, limestone pavement, moorland, and montane scrub throughout the northern hemisphere. In Britain, confined to scattered, declining populations on calcareous soils. The berries contain pinene, sabinene, terpinen-4-ol, and other monoterpenes with diuretic and antimicrobial properties.
Lore & History
In the Book of Kings, Elijah fleeing Jezebel rests beneath a juniper tree — the Hebrew rothem is variously translated as juniper or broom, but the association of the plant with shelter and divine communication is consistent. In Highland Scotland, juniper was burned at New Year — Là na Bliadhna Mhòire — inside the house to fumigate it against evil, all doors and windows closed until the inhabitants and animals were barely conscious before the house was opened to the cold air. In Italian folk medicine, oil of juniper was used to induce miscarriage, giving the plant its most dangerous historical use. The Zuni used it in sweat lodge ceremonies. Gin, the democratised descendant of medicinal juniper preparations, has caused more trouble and brought more comfort than most medicines ever managed.
Warnings
The berries are safe in culinary quantities — the two or three berries used to flavour a dish or infuse a spirit cause no harm. Medicinal doses of the essential oil or large quantities of berries cause kidney irritation — do not use high-dose preparations for more than a few weeks. Avoid entirely during pregnancy: juniper is an emmenagogue and was used historically as an abortifacient. Those with kidney disease should avoid medicinal doses. Do not confuse with Juniperus sabina (savin), a toxic ornamental juniper not native to Britain, which has caused fatal poisonings when substituted.