Editing Juniper (section)

== Uses ==
[[File:Juniper wood pieces and 1 cent coin.jpg|thumb|''Juniperus communis'' wood pieces, with a [[U.S. penny]] for scale, showing the narrow [[growth ring]]s of the species]]
[[File:2008-06-18 GreatBritain Plymouth GinFactory.jpg|thumb|[[Plymouth Gin]] factory, United Kingdom]]

===Ethnic and herbal use===
Most species of juniper are flexible and have a high compression strength-to-weight ratio.<ref name="Hamm">{{cite book |last1=Hamm |first1=Jim |title=Traditional Bowyers Bible, Volume 2 |date=March 2001 |publisher=Lyons Press |isbn=1585740861 |page=117}}</ref> This has made the wood a traditional choice for the construction of hunting bows among some of the [[Indigenous Peoples of North America|Native American cultures]] in the [[Great Basin]] region.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Millar CI, Smith KT |year=2017 |title=Reconsidering the process for bow-stave removal from juniper trees in the Great Basin |url=https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2017/nrs_2017_millar-c_001.pdf |journal=Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=125–131}}</ref> These bow staves are typically backed with sinew to provide tension strength that the wood may lack.<ref name="Hamm" />

Ancient Mesopotamians believed that juniper oil could be used to ward off the [[evil eye]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bXOeCwAAQBAJ&dq=evil+eye+juniper+oil+from%3A%2A.edu&pg=PT120 | title=Beware the Evil Eye Volume 1: The Evil Eye in the Bible and the Ancient World—Introduction, Mesopotamia, and Egypt | isbn=9781498273657 | last1=Elliott | first1=John H. | date=11 November 2015 | publisher=Wipf and Stock Publishers }}</ref>

Embalming vessels in the burial chambers from a 26th Dynasty embalming workshop at Saqqara have shown the usage of Juniper oil/tar.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rageot |first1=Maxime |last2=Hussein |first2=Ramadan B. |last3=Beck |first3=Susanne |last4=Altmann-Wendling |first4=Victoria |last5=Ibrahim |first5=Mohammed I. M. |last6=Bahgat |first6=Mahmoud M. |last7=Yousef |first7=Ahmed M. |last8=Mittelstaedt |first8=Katja |last9=Filippi |first9=Jean-Jacques |last10=Buckley |first10=Stephen |last11=Spiteri |first11=Cynthianne |last12=Stockhammer |first12=Philipp W. |date=2023-02-01 |title=Biomolecular analyses enable new insights into ancient Egyptian embalming |journal=Nature |volume=614 |issue=7947 |language=en |pages=287–293 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05663-4 |pmid=36725928 |pmc=9908542 |bibcode=2023Natur.614..287R |issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

Some [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]] use juniper in [[traditional medicine]]; for instance the [[Navajo people|Dineh (Navajo)]], who use it for [[diabetes]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=McCabe |first1=Melvina |last2=Gohdes |first2=Dorothy |last3=Morgan |first3=Frank |last4=Eakin |first4=Joanne |last5=Sanders |first5=Margaret |last6=Schmitt |first6=Cheryl |year=2005 |title=Herbal therapies and diabetes among Navajo Indians |url=http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/28/6/1534.2.full.pdf |journal=[[Diabetes Care]] |volume=28 |issue=6 |pages=1534–1535 |doi=10.2337/diacare.28.6.1534-a |pmid=15920089 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Juniper ash has also been historically consumed as a source of [[calcium]] by the Navajo people.<ref name=":52">{{Cite journal |last1=Christensen |first1=Nedra K |last2=Sorenson |first2=ANN W |last3=Hendricks |first3=Deloy G |last4=Munger |first4=Ronald |year=1998 |title=Juniper Ash as a Source of Calcium in the Navajo Diet |journal=Journal of the American Dietetic Association |volume=98 |issue=3 |pages=333–4 |doi=10.1016/s0002-8223(98)00077-7 |pmid=9508018}}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite journal |last1=Ballew |first1=Carol |last2=White |first2=Linda L. |last3=Strauss |first3=Karen F. |last4=Benson |first4=Lois J. |last5=Mendlein |first5=James M. |last6=Mokdad |first6=Ali H. |date=1997-10-01 |title=Intake of Nutrients and Food Sources of Nutrients among the Navajo: Findings from the Navajo Health and Nutrition Survey |journal=The Journal of Nutrition |language=en |volume=127 |issue=10 |pages=2085S–2093S |doi=10.1093/jn/127.10.2085s |issn=0022-3166 |pmid=9339174 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Juniper is traditionally used in [[Scottish culture|Scottish]] folkloric and [[Celtic reconstructionism|Gaelic Polytheist]] [[saining]] rites, such as those performed at [[Hogmanay]] ([[New Year]]), where the smoke of burning juniper, accompanied by traditional prayers and other customary rites, is used to cleanse, bless, and protect the household and its inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite book |last=McNeill |first=F. Marian |title=The Silver Bough, Vol.3: A Calendar of Scottish National Festivals, Halloween to Yule |publisher=William MacLellan |year=1961 |isbn=978-0-948474-04-0 |location=Glasgow |page=113 |chapter=X Hogmany Rites and Superstitions}}</ref>

Local people in Lahaul Valley present juniper leaves to their deities as a folk tradition. It is also useful as a folk remedy for pains and aches, as well as [[epilepsy]] and [[asthma]]. They are reported to collect large amounts of juniper leaves and wood for building and religious purposes.<ref name=":0" />

===General use===
{{Further|Juniper berry}}
Juniper berries are a spice used in a wide variety of culinary dishes and are best known for the primary flavoring in [[gin]] (and responsible for gin's name, which is a shortening of the Dutch word for juniper, ''jenever''). A juniper-based spirit is made by fermenting juniper berries and water to create a "wine" that is then distilled. This is often sold as a juniper brandy in eastern Europe.  Juniper berries are also used as the primary flavor in the liquor [[jenever]].  Juniper berry sauce is often a popular flavoring choice for [[quail]], [[pheasant]], [[veal]], [[rabbit]], [[venison]], and other game dishes.

A tea can be made from the young twigs.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/277203364 |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |others=[[United States Department of the Army]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |pages=63 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref> Twigs or needles are used to flavour the traditional Finnish junperbeer, [[sahti]] as well.

Dense and rot resistant, the irregular trunks of junipers have been used as fence posts and firewood. Stands that produce enough wood for specialty uses generally go under the common name "cedar",<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Arno |first1=Stephen F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ |title=Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees |last2=Hammerly |first2=Ramona P. |publisher=[[Mountaineers Books]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-68051-329-5 |edition=field guide |location=Seattle |pages=177, 179–180 |language=en |oclc=1141235469 |orig-date=1977}}</ref> including ''Juniperus virginiana'', the "red cedar" that is used widely in cedar drawers and closets.<ref name=mdc>{{cite web |title=Eastern Red Cedar |url=https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/eastern-red-cedar |website=MDC Discover Nature |publisher=Missouri Department of Conservation |access-date=15 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref> The lack of space or a hyphen between the words "red" and "cedar" is sometimes used to indicate that this species is not a true cedar (''[[Cedrus]]'').<ref name=reededu>{{cite web |title=Cedars - Trees of Reed |url=https://blogs.reed.edu/trees/cedars/ |access-date=15 July 2019}}</ref>

Juniper in weave is a traditional [[cladding (construction)|cladding]] technique used in Northern Europe, e.g. at [[Havrå]], Norway.<ref>{{cite book |first=Bjørn |last=Berge |title=The Ecology of Building Materials |publisher=Taylor & Francis |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-85617-537-1}}</ref>

Juniper berries are [[steam distillation|steam distilled]] to produce an [[essential oil]] that may vary from colorless to yellow or pale green.<ref name="Cantrell">{{cite journal |last1=Cantrell |first1=Charles L. |last2=Zheljazkov |first2=Valtcho D. |last3=Carvalho |first3=Camila R. |last4=Astatkie |first4=Tess |last5=Jeliazkova |first5=Ekaterina A. |last6=Rosa |first6=Luiz H. |editor-last=Chang |editor-first=Ing-Feng |title=Dual Extraction of Essential Oil and Podophyllotoxin from Creeping Juniper (''Juniperus horizontalis'') |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=9 |issue=9 |date=9 September 2014 |issn=1932-6203 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0106057 |pmid=25203255 |pmc=4159210 |page=e106057|bibcode=2014PLoSO...9j6057C |doi-access=free }}</ref> Some of its chemical components are [[terpenoid]]s and [[Aromaticity|aromatic compounds]], such as [[cadinene]], a [[sesquiterpene]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Int J Toxicol|year=2001|volume=20|issue=Suppl 2|pages=41–56|title=Final report on the safety assessment of ''Juniperus communis'' extract, Juniperus oxycedrus extract, Juniperus oxycedrus tar, ''Juniperus phoenicea'' extract, and ''Juniperus virginiana'' extract|pmid=11558640|doi=10.1080/10915810160233758|s2cid=40114722|doi-access=free}}</ref>