Juniperus phoenicea L. subsp. turbinata (Guss.) Nyman

Spice Fruit In the field

Family: CUPRESSACEAE

Genus: Juniperus

Catalan common name: Savina. Sivina.

Spanish common name: Sabina.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza. Formentera. Cabrera. Dragonera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): South Mediterranean

Uses and properties: Furniture, construction and tools. Medicinal.

IUCN Category: VUVulnerable

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Macrophanerophyte.

Habitats: Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Pine wood and shrubland with rosemary and thyme garigue. Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Occasionally on rocky coastlines.

Characteristics: The juniper is a tree which has scale-shaped leaves which are superimposed one on top of the other, generally displayed in four rows. The fruits or berrylike cones are spherical in shape, and have a slightly fleshy covering. The shape of the fruits, as well as the general size and shape of the plant, allows us to distinguish the juniper from the cypress, which is another tree with scale-shaped leaves; in this case the fruit has a shape of small pine cone. The junipers live in sandy substrates where they can form compact juniper woods with very large trees, usually living together with pines. These mixed woods are especially frequent in the Pitiüses (Eivissa and Formentera). We can also find them in rocky substrates, in places with little soil, in which case these individuals are usually smaller.