The beautiful tiny blue balls that appear on Red Cedar trees look like berries. But they’re not.
They are not berries. Berries are made only by plants that make flowers. Cedars, as well as pines and spruces, never make flowers. This "berry" is actually a cone.
Closer look at a berry
I wanted to see for myself, so I put a couple of them under the microscope. They were small and dark blue. They didn’t look like cones. No scales, no break or crevice in the smooth blue skin. Not at all like a pine cone or a spruce cone.
I tasted one and found it surprisingly gooshy. So I cut open one of the little blue blobs. Or tried to.
Actually I had to mash it open, because the blue skin ruptured. Inside was what looked like pale jelly. In the midst of the jelly were two hard, brown, little seeds, their flatter surfaces pressed against each other.
I’ve seen birds eat the “berries,” so I tried one. (OK, first I googled it up to determine it wasn’t poisonous.) It was refreshingly astringent. Neither sweet nor bitter, it tasted the way mountains smell. Kind of wonderful, though not anything you’d want to make a meal on.
Cedars for the Cedars
But yes, birds do eat them. I've been watching flocks of Cedar Waxwings swoop into the trees and start feeding on the little blue balls.
The birds digest the jelly, but the seeds pass through their digestive tracts unharmed. Wherever Cedar Waxwings poop, Red Cedars grow.
Only the girls
Many trees play both male and female reproductive roles. Not Red Cedar. This tree is dioecious, which is to say that each tree is either male or female, never both.
Only the females have blue, berry-like cones, which contain seeds.
Males also make cones, which slightly resemble miniature pine cones. Male Red Cedar cones are tan rather than blue. They produce pollen but no seeds.
Scientific Name: Juniperus virginiana
Common Names: Red Cedar, Eastern Red Cedar, Eastern Juniper, Red Juniper, Virginia Juniper.
”Red Cedar” is odd: the tree is not a cedar but a cypress.
Family: Cyprus (Cupressaceae)
Range: Primarily Eastern North America
Red Cedar catches fire and burns easily. Historically, it was largely restricted to areas where fire didn’t get to the trees, such as on rocky bluffs. However, the species has multiplied dramatically since European land management practices started suppressing fires.
Since it’s native to North America, Red Cedar cannot properly be described as invasive. However, it is certainly aggressive, and its explosive increase over the last century has damaged native prairies and grazing lands. Controlling it is a priority for land managers.
Although it’s arguably way too abundant now, it does provide shelter and food for birds, deer, and dozens of species of insects.
Magical lady! I now see your comments on Substack! Sending love to you, Michael and Latte ♥️
Lovely! Thank you. I want to see a Cedar Waxwing 😊