- Juniper shrubs, of the cypress family, grow in dense mats or clumps less than 3 feet high. The bark is thin, reddish-brown and scaly. Junipers grow in open, dry woods, on gravelly ridges or open rocky slopes, muskeg, bogs and even sub-alpine ridges and alpine tundra. The leaves are stiff and prickly like needles and are joined in small branches of three. Small cones appear at the tips of the branches, then turn into the dusty-looking berries.
- Juniper has been used in interior regions of the Northwest but not as commonly on the coast. According to "Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast," edited by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon, Haida and other coastal peoples sometimes referred to junipers as "swamp boughs" because they often grow in peat bogs. Juniper has been used medicinally to treat urinary infections, as a diuretic, and to aid in difficult childbirths.
- In Europe, juniper berries are used to flavor a number of things, including soups, stews, cordials and gin. Juniper berries are known widely for their contribution to gin, as they are the major ingredient in the alcoholic drink. Fresh juniper twigs can also be steeped for several minutes in boiled water to make tea.
- Juniper berries can take up to two to three years to ripen, and it is not until then that there will be both blue and green berries on the same bush at the same time. The green berries are picked for making a bitter and balsamic-tasting oil, but the blue (ripe) berries are also picked for making oil. It is this latter oil of Juniper that usually is sold commercially. Many people associate the smell and taste of gin and oil of juniper with the scent of turpentine.
- The pure oil also can be used as a localized stimulant but can cause a rash for some people. Excess amounts can cause urinary contractions and have been known to cause miscarriages in women. It can also cause irritation of the kidneys.
