Ground Juniper
Juniperus communis var. depressa
Found in roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 59%
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
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
33CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Juniperus
- Callophrys gryneusJuniper Hairstreak
- Acronicta americanaAmerican Dagger
- Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
- Callophrys niphonPine Elfin
- Choristoneura fumiferanaSpruce Budworm Moth
- Crambidia castaPearly-Winged Lichen Moth
- Dasychira plagiataNorthern Conifer Tussock Moth
- Digrammia continuataCurve-Lined Angle
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
Show all 33
- Elaphria versicolorVariegated Midget
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Epinotia radicanaRed-Striped Needleworm Moth
- 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
- Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Papilio troilusSpicebush Swallowtail
- Patalene olyzonariaJuniper Geometer
- Periploca nigraJuniper Twig Girder
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Periploca laeta
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
Plant details
- Family
- CUPRESSACEAE
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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