About this Juniper

Juniper wood burns with little smoke and so was a favoured source of fire for illicit whisky stills.

Juniper is a shrubby conifer which may be ground-hugging in exposed conditions. In Scottish pinewoods a bushy form grows in the understorey. The small male pollen-bearing cones and the rounded black berry-like female cones occur on separate plants.

Juniper wood burns with little smoke and so was a favoured source of fire for illicit whisky stills.

The berries are a traditional flavouring for gin.

(Image by Gavin Harris)

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