Juniperus oxycedrus - Prickly juniper

Prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) is an evergreen Mediterranean tree. Its wood yields cade oil through destructive distillation, a traditional antiseptic used to treat skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema. It can reach 10-15 m tall,¹ though the RHS lists 2.5-4 m tall and wide in cultivation.²

Inputs

• Hardiness zone 8³
• Hardiness zone 9³
• Hardiness zone 10³

Outputs

• Medicinal use³

Type

• Tree
• Evergreen

Functions

• Soil stabilization³
• Wildlife habitat³
• Insect shelter³
• Insect repellent³
• Flammable⁴⁵

Dimension	At maturity
Height (m)	10-15 (2.5-4 in cultivation)
Diameter (m)	2.5-4 in cultivation

Footnotes

1. Juniperus oxycedrus | EU Atlas of Forest Tree Species ↩

2. Juniperus oxycedrus | RHS Plant Finder ↩

3. Juniperus oxycedrus | Plants for a Future ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

4. Pausas, J.G. & Verdú, M., “Plant persistence traits in fire-prone ecosystems of the Mediterranean basin: a phylogenetic approach,” Oikos 109(1), 2005, pp. 196-202: “junipers are prone to fires due to their high content of volatile substances, which makes them highly flammable” ↩

5. Guia de pirojardineria, Diputació de Girona / Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 2020, rated “desaconsellada” (discouraged) in its master species table ↩