Eastern Red Cedar

Juniperus virginiana, the eastern red cedar, also called red cedar, Virginian juniper, eastern juniper and red juniper, is a juniper native to eastern North America from southeastern Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. It is a dense, slow-growing coniferous evergreen tree with reddish-brown, fibrous bark and two types of leaf, sharp juvenile needles and tight scale-like adult leaves. The seed cones are berry-like. The fragrant, pinkish to brownish red heartwood is very durable, and moths avoid the aromatic wood, so it lines clothes chests and closets. Among many Native American cultures the smoke of burning eastern red cedar is believed to expel evil spirits before a ceremony, such as a healing ceremony. Poles of the wood marked the red stick that gave Baton Rouge its name, and some nations continue to use it ceremonially.