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Juniperus oxycedrus (Prickly Juniper, Prickly Cedar, Cade Juniper, Spanish Cedar and Cade is a species of juniper, native across the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal, north to southern France, east to westernmost Iran, and south to Israel, growing on a variety of rocky sites from sea level up to 1600 m altitude. The specific epithet oxycedrus means "sharp cedar" and this species may have been the original cedar or cedrus of the ancient Greeks.
The plant is very variable in shape, forming a spreading shrub 2-3 m tall to a small erect tree 10-15 m tall. It has needle-like leaves in whorls of three; the leaves are green, 5-20 mm long and 1-2 mm broad, with a double white stomatal band on the inner surface. It is usually dioecious, with separate male and female plants. The seed cones are berry-like, green ripening in 18 months to orange-red with a variable pink waxy coating;
Constituents.—The oil contains
a high percentage of cadinene, C15H24,
the best known representative of the
sesquiterpenes, which is widely distributed
among the volatile oils. It forms a well-crystallised
dihydrochloride, from which the sesquiterpene
may be regenerated by heating with aniline or
sodium acetate and glacial acetic acid. Specific
gravity, 0.918 at 20°. Boiling-point, 274° to
275°. Rotation, -98.6°. On dissolving it in
glacial acetic acid, and treating the solution
with a little concentrated sulphuric acid, a
green colouration is at first produced, soon
changing through blue to red. This is a
characteristic colour test.