Eastern Red Cedar
Juniperus virginiana
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; forests and woodlands; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
59
Strong
Native to Arkansas (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 30–40 feet
- Spread
- 10–20 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 15 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- January to March
- Fruiting season
- October to November
JFMAMJJASOND
Recorded in 65 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock
Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 164 animals.
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Lark SparrowChondestes grammacus
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Tree SwallowTachycineta bicolor
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-bellied SapsuckerSphyrapicus varius
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
36CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Juniperus
- Callophrys gryneusJuniper Hairstreak
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Argyresthia alternatellaHoney-Comb Micromoth
- Callophrys niphonPine Elfin
- Choristoneura fumiferanaSpruce Budworm Moth
- Choristoneura houstonanaJuniper Budworm
- Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Elaphria versicolorVariegated Midget
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
Show all 36
- Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
- Glena plumosariaCedar Grey, Dainty Gray
- Henricus edwardsianaContrasting Henricus
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Lambdina fiscellariaHemlock Looper, Western Oak Looper
- Lithophane lemmeriLemmer's Pinion
- Macaria distribuariaSouthern Chocolate Angle
- Macaria multilineataMany-Lined Angle
- Oiketicus abbotiiAbbot's Bagworm Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
- Patalene olyzonariaJuniper Geometer
- Periploca nigraJuniper Twig Girder
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Argyresthia freyella
- Coleotechnites australis
- Coleotechnites obliquistrigella
- Isophrictis similiella
- Periploca cata
- Periploca laeta
- Periploca mimula
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
23BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Juniperus
- Bombycilla cedrorumCedar Waxwing
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Cathartes/coragyps spTurkey/Black Vulture
- Catharus guttatusHermit Thrush
- Catharus ustulatusSwainson's Thrush
- Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
- Cyanocitta stelleriSteller's Jay
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
Show all 23
- Empidonax alnorum/trailliiAlder/Willow Flycatcher (Traill's Flycatcher)
- Empidonax flaviventrisYellow-bellied Flycatcher
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Ixoreus naeviusVaried Thrush
- Loxia leucopteraWhite-winged Crossbill
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Mimus polyglottosNorthern Mockingbird
- Myadestes townsendiTownsend's Solitaire
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
- Tachycineta bicolorTree Swallow
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
- Vireo solitariusBlue-headed Vireo
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Cupressaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic to alkaline
- Flower color
- Green
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Single stem
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- October
- Fruit ends
- November
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “January to March” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, USDA PLANTS differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; NC Extension Plant Toolbox, USDA PLANTS differ) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Growth habit · “Single stem” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “30–40 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic to alkaline” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “10–20 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications