Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Juniper"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Juniper
(Heb. rothem), called by the Arabs retem, and known as Spanish
broom; ranked under the genus genista. It is a desert shrub, and
abounds in many parts of Palestine. In the account of his
journey from Akabah to Jerusalem, Dr. Robinson says: "This is
the largest and most conspicuous shrub of these deserts, growing
thickly in the water-courses and valleys. Our Arabs always
selected the place of encampment, if possible, in a spot where
it grew, in order to be sheltered by it at night from the wind;
and during the day, when they often went on in advance of the
camels, we found them not unfrequently sitting or sleeping under
a bush of retem to shelter them from the sun. It was in this
very desert, a day's journey from Beersheba, that the prophet
Elijah lay down and slept beneath the same shrub" (1 Kings 19:4,
5). It afforded material for fuel, and also in cases of
extremity for human food (Ps. 120:4; Job 30:4). One of the
encampments in the wilderness of Paran is called Rithmah, i.e.,
"place of broom" (Num. 33:18).
"The Bedawin of Sinai still burn this very plant into a
charcoal which throws out the most intense heat."
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Juniper \Ju"ni*per\, n. [L. juniperus, prop., youth-producing,
and so called from its evergreen appearance, from the roots
of E. juvenile, and parent. Cf. {Gin} the liquor.] (Bot.)
Any evergreen shrub or tree, of the genus {Juniperus} and
order {Conifer[ae]}.
Note: The common juniper ({J. communis}) is a shrub of a low,
spreading form, having awl-shaped, rigid leaves in
whorls of threes, and bearing small purplish blue
berries (or galbuli), of a warm, pungent taste, used as
diuretic and in flavoring gin. A resin exudes from the
bark, which has erroneously been considered identical
with sandarach, and is used as pounce. The oil of
juniper is acrid, and used for various purposes, as in
medicine, for making varnish, etc. The wood of several
species is of a reddish color, hard and durable, and is
used in cabinetwork under the names of red cedar,
Bermuda cedar, etc.
{Juniper worm} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a geometrid moth
({Drepanodes varus}). It feeds upon the leaves of the
juniper, and mimics the small twigs both in form and
color, in a remarkable manner.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
juniper
n 1: desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers;
constitutes the juniper of the Old Testament; sometimes
placed in genus Genista [syn: {retem}, {raetam}, {juniper
bush}, {Retama raetam}, {Genista raetam}]
2: coniferous shrub or small tree with berrylike cones
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