Juniper  (Juniperus communis)

Junipers are found across most of the UK and are one of our three native conifers, the other two being Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and yew (Taxus baccata). However, it is extremely irregular in its distribution. The subspeciesJuniperus communis communis is found in two main populations, one in the Scottish Highlands and the other on the southern English chalk. It is also abundant on parts of the Chilterns, the North Downs and especially Salisbury Plain. Juniperus communis nana is chiefly restricted to north-west Scotland's mountainous regions. Elsewhere, juniper is a widespread tree, found across both temperate and sub-arctic zones.

Juniper is found on well-drained rocks and soils and tolerates extremes of climate and pH. In Scotland, it occurs on cold, wet acid sites and grows amongst heather and whinberries. In the south of England it is found on hot, dry chalky hillsides. The largest southern population of juniper in England is inside the Ministry of Defence's Establishment at Porton Down in Wiltshire. Here there are estimated to be over 14,000 bushes. It is thought that many of these date from the introduction of myxomatosis and the reduction of the rabbit population, which led to reduced grazing of the seedlings.