JuniperJuniper | Juniperus communis
general characteristics
general characteristics
Common names include juniper, common juniper, nickname "mothers ruin" (due to its ability to cause abortion), jenever (Dutch).
Juniper is a small evergreen tree or shrub, a member of the Cupressaceae or Cypress family. It prefers sandy or chalky soils in rocky areas, along the coast, moorlands and open high spaces but is often found also in open mixed woodland and scrub. It is native to and grows wild throughout the cooler northern hemisphere in North America, Europe and Asia.
It has small needle like leaves, composed of many tiny scales which are green edged with a silvery blue and often whitish 'bloom' when fully matured. The branches and leaves/needles all have a distinct aromatic smell. The flowers form on both male plants and female plants. The male flowers turn into small scaly cones whilst the female flowers turn into the dark bluish berries (actually modified cones also) that we use for medicine.
Juniper berries are the main ingredient for gin and are added for their distinct flavour to many other liqueurs. Its wood is highly resistant to rot.
Organic juniper tinctures and dried berries are available to buy in our herbal shop.
harvesting and preparation
harvesting and preparation
The berries are most commonly used as a medicine but the young leaves can also be eaten or brewed as a tea as they are both rich in vitamin C.
The berries are best picked wearing gloves as the leaves are quite prickly. Go for the blueish berries as these are the in the final stages of ripening. ignore the green berries (these are next years harvest). Spread on a tray lined with paper and keep somewhere warm and dry until shrivelled and completely dried. Store in an airtight jar and check for mould/spoilage every few days to begin with, removing any affected as soon as possible.
Juniper is on the decline in the wild in the UK so harvesting berries from the wild is out of the question. However, given the right soil conditions, it can be grown in the garden but you will need both male and female plants in order to harvest berries.
therapeutic actions and uses
therapeutic actions and uses
Juniper berries are warming and aromatic in their nature and are viewed in Eastern medicine as acting primarily on the kidneys and heart. In many cultures throughout the world they are used in purification and cleansing ceremonies, cleansing of the body, emotions, spirit and environments. In past times, juniper branches were burned to prevent outbreaks or spread of infectious diseases such as plague.dosage and cautions
dosage and cautions
dosage and cautions
* Juniper and the kidneys. Almost all sources of information on juniper berries and the kidneys claim they have a damaging and irritating action on the kidneys, especially if the kidneys are already actively damaged or inflamed in some way. However, experienced herbalists Kerry Bone and Steven Harrod Buhner both state confidently that after many years of using juniper in such cases, they have observed no irritation or damage at all and that juniper berries in fact offer valuable healing to damaged or inflamed kidneys when taken in normal medicinal doses.
Adult
Tincture: 10 drops or 0.25 ml up to 2 times daily
Dried berries in tea form: 10 crushed berries infused for several minutes for up to 10 days at a time. One cup daily. or eat 5 berries twice daily for up to 10 days.
An old folk remedy survives of eating 4 whole juniper berries on the first day, then increase by 1 berry each day until a total of 15 berries are consumed daily. Then reverse back to 14 the next day, 13 the day after etc etc until you are back to 4 berries, then stop. All together around 3 weeks of eating the berries.
Children
Comments