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JUNIPER, GINEPRO, GENEVRIER
Most familiar as a flavouring in gin, juniper has been used medicinally since the time of ancient Greek and Arab physicians. An oddity of the plant is that the small berries it produces take two years to ripen. Native to southern Europe, which remains the source of most commercial juniper berries, it is an evergreen tree with flat needle-like leaves, tiny flowers in late summer, and small green berries that ripen to black.
PARTS USED Berries.
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS Volatile oil containing myrcene, sabinene, pinene, limonene, and cineole; condensed tannins; bitter principle; flavonoids.
ACTIONS Urinary antiseptic; increases urine production; relieves wind and colic; stimulates the muscles of the womb.
MEDICINAL USE Used to treat colic, rheumatism, and urinary tract infections, particularly cystitis.
PREPARATIONS Dried berries, tincture.
CAUTION Avoid in pregnancy or if kidney disease is suspected. |
Juniperus communis (Coniferae)
