either this is a sprig of cedar with some nice, photogenic blue and white berries, or it is a sprig of juniper, with berries that might perfectly flavor a venison roast, or which might turn, eventually, into a gin and tonic. after some research, i don’t know which it is, but i know which i sort of hope it is.
sprig of cedar or juniper with berrries
avenue de fontcerise, autignac, languedoc, france
This is a cedar, but it is in the genus Juniperus. The juniper used for cooking is the species Juniperus communis, which has very sharp long needle-like leaves, not small scale-like leaves like this. Juniperus communis occurs in Europe naturally, and is the best kind to use as a spice. Other species can be bitter, flavorless or maybe even toxic. This photo looks similar to Juniperus virginica, the common species in NE USA, and I wouldn’t pick and eat that one. Sorry… wrong plant this time. You can order great juniper berries from Penzey’s spices.
Thank you! This branch of juniper ~ 100%. Please!
There are spiny juniper, but there are scaly juniper tree.
Prickly juniper has a brownish-red berries.
Treelike scaly juniper berries with a touch of blue.