Introduction of Cedar:Eastern red cedar or Virginia red cedar.
✵The article gives records of the herb Cedar, its English name, Latin name, common names, property and flavor, its botanical source plant species, ①.Juniperus virginiana L., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Cedar, common uses, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.
Cedar(Eastern red cedar).
English Name: Cedar.
Latin Name: Juniperus virginiana L.
Common Names: Cedar, red juniper, Pencil Cedar, Carolina Cedar, Eastern Red Cedar, Virginia Red Cedar, Baton rouge, Juniper, Virginia Juniper, Red Juniper, Savin, Red Savin, Cedar Apple,Cedar tree.
Property and flavor:
Brief introduction: Eastern red cedar is also known as Red Juniper, its leaves, the blue-green fruit, the wood, and wood oil have been used medicinally, it was used by Native Americans for centuries to treat various ailments.
Botanical source: Common herbal classics defined the herb Cedar as part of the species (1).Juniperus virginiana L. It is a plant species of the Juniperus genus, the Pinaceae family (pine family). The leaves, fruit, wood, and wood oil are used medicinally. This commonly used species is introduced:
(1).Juniperus virginiana L.
Botanical description: Juniperus virginiana is an evergreen tree, it grows up to 5 to 7.5 meters high. The leaves are scale-like, closely oppressed, and glandular. The bark is red-brown, exfoliating in long, fibrous strips, often ashy gray where exposed.
Small light blue-green flowers form clusters, and flowers mature in late winter or early spring. The tree produces a nearly spherical blue fruit that matures in the fall on female trees.
The heartwood is light brown and aromatic, contrasted by the white sapwood, and is commonly used for cedar chests. The wood is also often used to make fence posts and rails as it is naturally rot-resistant. It also repels insects, lending to its appeal for use in clothing storage and pet bedding.
Ecological environment: Juniperus virginiana grows in Central and Eastern North America continent, south to northeast Mexico, Texas, and Florida, it is one of America's most widely distributed eastern conifers, it normally grows in old, eroded sandstone or limestone plateaux covered in open pine or pine-oak woodland, or stream banks of clay or sand, to abandoned fields, road verges and stabilized sand dunes, at elevations up to 1,000 meters.
Growth characteristics: This widespread species is increasing in abundance in many areas. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species) in 2013, Juniperus virginiana is a very cold-hardy plant, able to tolerate temperatures down to around -30 °C (Celsius, or -22 degrees Fahrenheit) when fully dormant, it requires a sunny position, succeeds in most soils if they are well-drained, it tolerates a wide range of soils and growing conditions, from swamps to dry rocky glades, preferring a neutral or slightly alkaline soil, and succeeding on chalk, it can even grow on seemingly barren soils that few other plants can tolerate, it prefers moist soils but is intolerant of constantly wet soils. Established plants are drought-tolerant, succeeding in hot dry positions, and wind-resistant. Birds, like the cedar waxwing, eat the waxy blue berry-like cones, a process that greatly increases the seed germination rate. It is an important food source for many other birds, as well as mammals, and it provides very high-quality shelter within its thick foliage for many animals, especially in winter.
Characters of herbs: The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as food, medicine, and a source of materials.
Other Uses: The hardwood of eastern red cedar is used for making furniture, log cabins, pencils, etc. The tree is a popular Christmas tree (an evergreen tree, often a pine or a fir, decorated with lights and ornaments as a part of Christmas festivities.). It can be used as a pioneer to restore native woodland and reclaim polluted soils and is often grown as an ornamental, where selected forms can be used as a ground cover.
Pharmacological actions: ①.antiseptic; ②.expectorant; ③.astringent; ④.antifungal; ⑤.diaphoretic; etc.
The herb eastern red cedar has antiseptic, expectorant, astringent, and antifungal effects, its component podophyllotoxin is identified with antitumor effect, and the herb was once used in USA(the United States of America) as a diaphoretic to induce perspiration.
Medicinal efficacy: The eastern red cedar was used by Native Americans for coughs, colds, rheumatism, and intestinal parasites, to induce perspiration, canker sore pain, leaves were used to relieve bronchitis and rheumatic pain, and also used in purification rituals. Berry infusion was used as a diuretic. Cedar oil is used by today's herbalists for its antiviral and antifungal properties, to cleanse the urine and lymph system, congestion, boost the immune system, blood circulation, etc. It is also used externally for warts, etc. The cedar leaf essential oil is also used in steam vaporizer solutions, and aftershave lotions, cedar extract is used to control greasy hair in dandruff products, and its wood oil was used in insect repellents.
Administration of Cedar (Eastern red cedar):
Reference:
Administration Guide of Cedar (Eastern red cedar)
Herbal classic books:
The herb is not recommended for internal use. For topical use, better use commercial formulations and follow the instructions.
Contraindications, Precautions and Adverse Reactions: Available studies indicate all parts of the tree are toxic, but the recommended amounts of the essential oil are probably safe to use in topical form or in commercial steam vaporizers. Be careful of skin irritation reactions, the herb should be avoided during pregnancy.
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References:
1.Introduction of Cedar:Eastern red cedar or Virginia red cedar.
✵The article gives records of the herb Cedar, its English name, Latin name, common names, property and flavor, its botanical source plant species, ①.Juniperus virginiana L., with a detailed introduction to the botanical features of this plant species, the growth characteristics, and ecological environment of this plant species, the features of the herb Cedar, common uses, its pharmacological actions, medicinal efficacy, and administration guide.
Botanical description: Juniperus virginiana is an evergreen tree, it grows up to 5 to 7.5 meters high. The leaves are scale-like, closely oppressed, and glandular. The bark is red-brown, exfoliating in long, fibrous strips, often ashy gray where exposed.
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