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Juniperus sabina

Common name:	Savine	Family:	Cupressaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 50, 200
Synonyms:	Sabina vulgaris
Known Hazards:	The whole plant is poisonous and can produce abortions[4].
Range:	C. and S. Europe to N. America.
Habitat:	Dry stony places in mountains[50], usually on limestone[11], at elevations of 1000 - 2300 metres.
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Sabina cacumina[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Kara Ardic [E], Sabina [E], Savin [P], Savine [E,H],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Pinales. Cypress family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Egypt Europe Hungary Spain Turkey

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4m by 4m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in leaf all year, in flower in April, and the seeds ripen in October. The scented flowers are dioecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but only one sex is to be found on any one plant so both male and female plants must be grown if seed is required) and are pollinated by Wind. The plant not is self-fertile. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Abortifacient Diuretic Emetic Emmenagogue Irritant Warts.

The young shoots are abortifacient, diuretic, emetic, powerfully emmenagogue and irritant[4, 7]. The plant is rarely used internally but is useful as an ointment and dressing to blisters etc in order to promote discharge[4]. The powdered leaves are also used in the treatment of warts[1, 4, 7, 21]. The shoots are harvested in spring and dried for later use[4]. Use with great caution and never during pregnancy[4, 21], see notes above on toxicity.

Other Uses

Essential Ground cover Hedge Insecticide Parasiticide Repellent.

Leaves are used as an insect repellent, a decoction of them is used against lice[46, 61].
An essential oil from the leaves and shoots has strong diuretic properties and is also used in perfumery[1, 61]. Yields of around 4% are obtained, this oil is also used as an insecticide[7].
A good dense ground cover plant, though it is slow to cover the ground[197]. The species type eventually forms a high ground cover, but there are many named forms that are lower-growing[208]. The sub-species J. sabina tamariscifolia has been particularly recommended[188]. Plants should be spaced about 1.2 metres apart each way[208].
The taller forms of this species make a good hedge[245].

Cultivation details

Succeeds in most soils if they are well drained, preferring a neutral or slightly alkaline soil[1, 11]. Prefers a limestone soil[1]. Succeeds in poor soils and in light shade[197]. Established plants are drought tolerant, succeeding in hot dry positions[200]. Tolerates maritime exposure[200].
A very ornamental plant[1], there are many named varieties[188]. All parts of the plant have a powerful pungent smell[245].
Plants can be dioecious or monoecious. Male and female plants must be grown if fruit and seed are required.
The plant is sometimes attacked by a rust, this is a fungus with an aecidial stage on the leaves of pear trees[1]. Plants are resistant to honey fungus[88].

Propagation

The seed requires a period of cold stratification. The seed has a hard seedcoat and can be very slow to germinate, requiring a cold period followed by a warm period and then another cold spell, each of 2 - 3 months duration[78, 81]. Soaking the seed for 3 - 6 seconds in boiling water may speed up the germination process[11]. The seed is best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Some might germinate in the following spring, though most will take another year. Another possibility is to harvest the seed 'green' (when the embryo has fully formed but before the seedcoat has hardened). The seedlings can be potted up into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Grow on in pots until large enough, then plant out in early summer. When stored dry, the seed can remain viable for several years[1].
Cuttings of mature wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel, September/October in a cold frame. Plant out in the following autumn[1, 78].
Layering in September/October. Takes 12 months[78].

Scent

Plant: Crushed: All parts of the plant have a powerful pungent smell.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

PFAF Web Pages

This plant is mentioned in the following web pages

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Cupressaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[21] Lust. J. The Herb Book. Bantam books 1983 ISBN 0-553-23827-2
Lots of information tightly crammed into a fairly small book.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[81] Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X
Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.

[88] RHS. The Garden. Volume 112. Royal Horticultural Society 1987
Snippets of information from the magazine of the RHS. In particular, there are articles on plants that are resistant to honey fungus, oriental vegetables, Cimicifuga spp, Passiflora species and Cucurbits.

[188] Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.

[197] Royal Horticultural Society. Ground Cover Plants. Cassells. 1989 ISBN 0-304-31089-1
A handy little booklet from the R.H.S.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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