PLATE XIX
THE JUNIPER
In the Bible we read that when Elijah fled from the cruel persecution of King Ahab and the wicked Queen Jezebel, he sat down under a Juniper tree to rest. When we look at the Juniper as it grows in this country, we wonder how the prophet could have found rest beside such a prickly tree, or shade beneath such a small one. But in other lands the Juniper grows much taller; and as all books about trees give it a place beside its relations the Yew and the Scotch Pine, it must be included among the common trees you should learn to know.
THE JUNIPER
1. Juniper Bushes2. Leaf Spray with Flowers3. Stamen Flower (much enlarged)
4. Seed Flower (much enlarged)5. Spray with Fruit
In Britain the Juniper (1) is found on heathy commons or high on the upland plains, where it flourishes as a large, thick, bushy shrub, and occasionally shoots up into a small tree. It is rather a gloomy-looking tree: in spring time, when most of our trees look fresh and bright in their young green leaves, the Juniper shows little change. Its leaves are evergreen, and the new leaves grow in small tufts at the tips of the branches, so that you scarcely notice them.
The Juniper bark is dark reddish brown, and it flakes off in small pieces in the same way as the Yew tree bark. The branches are small and thin, and they clothe the trunk close to the very ground; it would be difficult to sit comfortably under a Juniper tree in this country. Like the Yew, it is a very slow-growing tree.
Juniper leaves (2) are not in the least like ordinary leaves: they are more like thorns than leaves, and they are not easy to gather. But if you examine a spray carefully you will find that each leaf is like a narrow flat spear with a sharp point at the end. Each leaf has a slight groove cut from end to end in the upper side, which is dark green, very smooth and glossy. Notice how curiously the leaves are grouped on the spray. They are placed in incomplete circles of three, and there is always a short space between each of the circles.