Nature Center non-profit-organization Pipe Creek TEXAS * Live in Harmony with Nature * | |||||
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Texas 'Cedar'Juniperus asheiThousands of juniperus ashei are growing on Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve is a 125 acre Nature- Birding- Wildflower Trail and Park in the southern part of the Texas Hill Country. Home and Center of Bear Springs Blossom Nature Conservation Group Inc. Conservation and Restoration of Nature habitats International Non-Profit-Organization 501(c)(3)  JUNIPERUS ASHEI For thousands of years, the native juniper also called Texas Cedar, has grown in the Texas Hill Country. The junipers, of which there are twenty-five species, are evergreen bushy shrubs or not to high columnar trees, with a more or less aromatic odor, inhabiting the whole of the cold and temperate northern hemisphere, but attaining their maximum development in the Mediterranean region, the North Atlantic islands, and the US. The leaves are usually articulated at the base, spreading, sharp-pointed and needle-like in form, destitute of oil-glands, and arranged in alternating whorls of three; but in some the leaves are minute and scale-like, closely adhering to the branches, the apex only being free, and furnished with an oil-gland on the back. Sometimes the same plant produces both kinds of leaves on different branches, or the young plants produce acicular leaves, while those of the older plants are squamiform. The male and female flowers are usually produced on separate plants. The male flowers are developed at the ends of short lateral branches, are rounded or oblong in form, and consist of several antheriferous scales in two or three rows, each scale bearing three or six almost spherical pollen-sacs on its under side. The female flower is a small bud-like cone situated at the apex of a small branch, and consists of two or three whorls of two or three scales. The scales of the upper or middle series each bear one or two erect ovules. The mature cone is fleshy, with the succulent scales fused together and forming the fruit-like structure known to the older botanists as the galbulus, or berry of the juniper. The berries are red or purple in color, varying in size from that of a pea to a nut. They thus differ considerably from the cones of other members of the order Coniferae, of Gymnosperms (q.v.), to which the junipers belong. The seeds are usually three in number, sometimes fewer (I),rarely more (8), and have the surface near the middle or base marked with large glands containing oil. The genus, occurs in a fossil state, four species having been described from rocks of Tertiary age. The genus is divided into three sections, Sabina, Oxycedrus and Car yocedrus. Juniperus Sabina is the savin, abundant on the mountains of central Europe, an irregularly spreading muchbranched shrub with scale-like glandular leaves, and emitting a disagreeable odour when bruised. The plant is kind of poisonous, acting as a powerful local and general stimulant, diaphoretic, emmenagogue and anthelmintic; it was formerly employed both internally /externally. The oil of savin is now occasionally used as an abortifacient. J. bermudiana, a tree about 40 or 50 ft. in height, yields a fragrant red wood, which was used for the manufacture of cedar pencils. The tree is now very scarce in Bermuda, and the red cedar, J. virginiana, of North America is employed instead for pencils and cigar-boxes. The red cedar is abundant in some parts of the US and in Virginia is a tree 50 ft. in height. It is very widely distributed from the Great Lakes to Florida and round the Gulf of Mexico, and extends as far westas the Rocky Mountains and beyond to Vancouver Island. The wood is applied to many uses in the US. The fine red fragrant heart-wood takes a high polish, and is much used in cabinet-work and inlaying, but the small size of the planks prevents its more extended use. The galls produced at the ends of the branches have been used in medicine, and the wood yields cedar-camphor and oil of cedar-wood. J. t/zurifera is the incense juniper of Spain and Portugal, J. phoenicea (J. lycia) from the Mediterranean district is stated by Loudon to be burned as incense. J. communis, the common juniper, and several other species,belong to the section Oxycedrus. The common juniper is a very widely distributed plant, occurring in the whole of northern Europe, central and northern Asia to Kamchatka, and east and west North America. It grows at considerable elevations in southern Europe, in the Alps, Apennines, Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada (4000 to 8000 ft.). It also grows in Asia Minor, Persia, and at great elevations on the Himalayas. In Great Britain it is usually a shrub with spreading branches, less frequently a low tree. In former times the juniper seems to have been a very well-known plant, the name occurring almost unaltered in many languages. The Lat. juniperus, probably formed from junicrude form of juvenis, fresh, young, and parere, to produce, ti represented by Fr. genievre, Sp. enebro, Ital. ginepito. The dialectical names, chiefly in European languages, were collected by Prince L. L. Bonaparte, and published in the Academy (July 17, 1880, No. 428, p. 45). The common juniper is official in the British pharmacopoeia and in that of the US, yielding the oil of juniper, a powerful diuretic, distilled from the unripe fruits. This oil is closely allied in composition to oil of turpentine and is given in doses of a half to three minims. Much safer and more powerful diuretics are now in use. The wood is very aromatic and is used for ornamental purposes. In Lapland the hark is made into ropes.  The fruits are used for flavouring gin (a name derived from juniper, through Fr. genievre); and in some parts of France a kind of beer called genvrette was made from them by the peasants. J. Oxycedrus, from the Mediterranean district and Madeira, yields cedar-oil which is official in most of the European pharmacopoeias, but not in that of Britain. This oil is largely used by microscopists in what is known as the oil-immersion lens. 
Bear Springs Blossom Nature Preserve has juniperus ashei over 180 years old and about 40 feet high Cedar leaf oil Cedar leaf oil has been an item of commerce for over 100 years and is produced from the ends of branches and adherent foliage of the northern white cedar or arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, and the western red cedar, Thuja plicata. According to one producer, this oil contains appr. 60 percent thujone a -thujone, b -thujone and fenchone). Cedar leaf oil is a common ingredient in pine and cedar blends that are used in room sprays, talcs and insecticides. This oil is also a component of embalming fluids, microscope slide slips, industrial cleaners, deodorants, pharmaceuticals, cleaning fluids, salves, liniments, perfumes, shoe polishes and soaps. One of the principal uses of cedar leaf oil is in the preparation of patent medicines such as cold-remedy salves, which help clear the nose and chest. Another use of this oil is to "re-odorize" sawdust which is in sawdust logs or instant fire logs. The primary areas of production of cedar leaf oil \ have been north-eastern US (New York, Vermont / Upper Peninsula of Michigan) and adjoining portions of Canada. Cedar leaf oil is also produced in British Colombia, Canada. Production of this oil has been a small industry In 1984, an estimated 25 tonnes were produced in Canada and the United States (Thomas and Schumann 1992). Essential oils from Juniperus and Cupressus A number of essential oils are derived from the foliage, fruits and wood of various species of Juniperus and Cupressus world-wide. The oils distilled from the heartwood of Juniperus are used in the production of the majority of perfumes and colognes on the world market. More than 400 fragrances, or almost 60 % of the fragrances produced, contain cedarwood oil an important commodity in international markets. In the US essential oils are presently harvested from two species of Juniperus: the eastern red cedar, J. virginiana,of the eastern states and the Ashe juniper, Juniperus ashei, a tree found in portions of Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. The latter species is often referred to as J. mexicana; however, according to Little (1979), this taxonomic designation is not valid. The oil harvested from J. virginiana is known in the essential oil trade as Virginian cedarwood oil or Cedarwood oil Virginiana and is recovered through the process of partial pressure steam distillation of sawdust, wood shavings, old stumps and chipped logs, materials which would otherwise be considered waste. Waste products from cedar furniture manufacturing plants are a prime source of material for extraction of this oil. Most production today comes from the state of North Carolina, and one processor in Texas (Texarome Inc). Virginia cedarwood oil is widely used in the fragrance industry in soaps, air fresheners, floor polishes, and sanitation supplies. It is also used in deodorants, insecticides, mothproof bags, and janitorial supplies. In addition, a large percentage of this oil is used as a starting material for cedrol and cedryl acetate (Thomas and Schumann 1982). The oil harvested from J. ashei is known as Texas cedarwood oil. This oil has different uses and does not compete with the Virginia cedarwood oil. The chemical composition of the two oils is similar, but Texas cedarwood oil is used almost exclusively as feedstock for the manufacture of chemical derivatives whereas Virginia cedarwood oil is used primarily in fragrance formulas. Unlike the Virginia cedarwood oil, the Texas cedarwood oil is not a by-product of the furniture industry. This tree is felled by ranchers to clear land for grazing. Cedar trees and stumps from these land-clearing operations are sold to Texarome. Approximately 70 to 80 percent of this oil is used for cedrol isolation and subsequent acetylation. In China, Chinese cedarwood oil is extracted primarily from Cupressus funebris, a small tree or shrub that is found in Guizhou, Gansu and Sichuan Provinces. Other species used for production of this oil include Juniperus chinensis, J. formosana and J. vulgaris. This oil competes with the Virginian and Texas cedarwood oils and generally sells for a lower price. Commercial juniper berry oil is produced from the berries of Juniperus communis by steam distillation of the crushed, dried or partially dried berries. The spent berries from gin production are generally used for this purpose. Juniper berry essential oil contains mainly the terpenes pinene, myrcene, sabinene and limonene. This oil is a watery white or very pale yellow, mobile oil, having a fresh, yet warm, rich balsamic woody sweet and pine needle like odor and is used in aftershave fragrances and other perfumery products. J. oil has certain disinfectant properties that allow it to be used in soap perfumes. J. oil is also occasionally used to impart a smoky flavour to meat and seafood. This oil has been used for treatment of skin diseases, especially psoriasis. CEDARWOOD OIL - A NATURAL PESTICIDE? Cedarwood oil is under investigation as a natural pesticide or repellent. The wood of several species of Juniperus, especially J. virginiana, is known to be decay resistant. Fences made from cedarwood posts are still sound after several decades of use. 
Cedar chests are known to be safe places to store woollen articles and protect them from the ravages of cloth moth larvae. Laboratory studies by USDA Forest Service indicate that cedarwood oil and perhaps cedar leaf oil may be effective termiticides when absorbed into other woods. Numerous herbal and pet shampoos and natural repellents contain cedarwood oil as an active ingredient. In addition to Juniperus ashei and J. virginiana, other North American species of Juniperus are potential future sources of cedarwood oils. Juniperus scopulorum is a common tree of the Rocky Mountain region and is closely related to J. virginiana. Chinese cedarwood oil, Texas cedarwood oil Virginiana cedarwood oil are traded internationally in substantial volumes. Western Europe,Japan and the US are the major markets for these oils. The United States utilizes much of its Texas and Virginia cedarwood oils and also imports a significant quantity of Chinese cedarwood oil. Japan imports about 170 tonnes of cedarwood oils, mostly from the US. "Cedarwood" Juniper Virginiana Essential Oil Botanical name: Juniperus virginiana Country of Origin: USA Method of Cultivation: Collected from wild growing trees Method of Extraction: Steam Distilled Part extracted: Wood Color: Clear/yellowish Perfumery Note: Middle/top Aroma: Dry/woody aroma, sweet/balsamic. The scent reminds people of pencils, and has a tobacco type note to it. Consistency: Liquid. Aromatherapy properties: Harsher and more irritating than the other Cedarwoods. For skin therapeutic benefits: Warming, uplifting, and toning. Comforting and reviving. Considered an aphrodisiac in that it is grounding and inspiring at the same time. Confidence building. Long lasting, acts as a fixative (a fixative is a substance that binds other compounds, slowing down their evaporation and thereby making the fragrance last longer). How to use it: Your closet should smell like Cedarwood to keep moths out… this is where you want to place tissues with drops of Cedarwood and Lavender and your empty Cedarwood bottles. Please note the large selection of therapeutic blends below for diffusion and skincare applications. Great in most blends, gives them a spirited note, while helping them to last longer. Blends well with the citrus oils, giving them a base note that very nicely complements them. Its a nice masculine note to add to aphrodisiac blends. Nice also with Rosemary, Chamomile, Eucalyptus and many more. 
Thousands of juniperus ashei are growing on BSB.Bear Springs Blossom is a 125 acre Nature- Birding- Wildflower Trail and Park in the southern part of the Texas Hill Country Home and Center of BSB Nature Conservation Group Inc. *BSBNCG* Conservation and Restoration of Nature habitats Texas Non-Profit-Organization 501(c)(3) We are conservationists we promote protection, conservation, research and utilization of Nature through * Education, Outreach and example *
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HELPFUL Information WEB Links Bandera County Visitors Bureau Phone 800-364-3833 Oil from the Texas "Cedar" juniper good for your health, pruduced environmentally friendly in the Texas Hill Country TEXAROME 
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