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Southern Red Cedar

Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola

Found in maritime forests and thickets; Coastal Plain hammocks; salt and brackish marshes. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

58
Strong

Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 100%

Height
About 65 feet
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source

Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.

At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Leaves
Evergreen
Bloom
January to February
Fruiting season
October to November

Not yet recorded · Spread

Recorded in 4 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Coastal Plain hammocks

Dense, evergreen groves of live oak, magnolia and other hardwoods in the southern Coastal Plain, from dry oak domes to wet hydric hammocks and south Florida's tropical hammocks; salt-shaped maritime hammocks are maritime forests.

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 118 animals.

All wildlife of Mississippi

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

30CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Juniperus

  • Callophrys gryneusJuniper Hairstreak
  • Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
  • Argyresthia alternatellaHoney-Comb Micromoth
  • Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
  • Callophrys niphonPine Elfin
  • Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
  • Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
  • Elaphria versicolorVariegated Midget
  • Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Show all 30
  • Glena plumosariaCedar Grey, Dainty Gray
  • Glyphidocera juniperellaJuniper Tip Moth
  • 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
  • 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
  • Periploca laeta
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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 7a–11b
Flower color
Yellow
Growth rate
Slow
Growth habit
Single stem
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
October
Fruit ends
November
Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Juniperus virginiana var. silicicola

Conservation status

Mississippi rankS2
Global rankG5T4T5 [G4G5]
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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