Chinese Juniper

Chinese Juniper is a juniper native to a broad area of eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Korea and Myanmar, growing across a wide range of elevations and habitats from lowland areas to mountain slopes. It is a highly variable species, occurring as an upright tree reaching over 20 meters or as a low, spreading shrub depending on the population and cultivated form, with foliage that changes from soft, needle like juvenile growth to scale like adult foliage as the plant matures. The species has been cultivated in East Asia for many centuries and is one of the most important junipers in ornamental horticulture and bonsai worldwide, with hundreds of named cultivars selected for form, foliage color and growth habit. Its wood has traditionally been used in China for incense, carving and construction.