Scientific Name
Other Names
Life Form
Family
Ornamental - a wide range of cultivated forms have been developed some of them suitable for use as hedges or ground cover. Cosmetic/Essential oils - Extracts of the plant are used as ingredients in commercial cosmetic preparations for skin conditioning, antioxidants, perfumery. Medicne - Fruits are commonly used in herbal medicine, as a household remedy, and also in some commercial preparations. They are especially useful in the treatment of digestive disorders and bladder problems. The fully ripe fruits are strongly antiseptic, aromatic, carminative, diaphoretic, strongly diuretic, rubefacient, stomachic and tonic. Food- Fruit eaten, A tea is made by boiling the leaves and stems and berries.
Afghanistan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan
Thrives in cool, temperate climates and grows in rocky areas, forests, and mountain slopes, at an elevation of 1800-3600 m.
It is highly variable ranging from a low-spreading shrub to a small tree reaching 10 m tall.
Stem is single, thick trunk in tree forms or multiple woody stems in shrub forms.
Leaves are needle-like arranged in whorls of three. They are green with a single white stomatal band (pore area) on the inner surface, typically 1-2 cm long.
Dioecious (separate male and female cones on different plants), wind-pollinated. Male cones: Yellowish, small (0.2-0.3 cm) long, and fall after releasing pollen. Female cones: Develop into berry-like structures.
Fruit is technically cone that mature into berry-like structure, 18 months after pollination.
Pollination: April-May.