Prostrate Juniper

On West Ardnamurchan, in exposed places high in the hills, Juniper grows flat against the great rounded boulders. This is Prostrate Juniper, Juniperus communis nana, a subspecies of the common Juniper. Perhaps, as well as protecting itself from the wind and weather, it benefits when the rock warms in the sunshine.

It doesn't seem to grow anywhere away from rock, and often the rocks it chooses are on or near the summits of very exposed hills. One wonders whether this is connected to how it's propagated, whether the birds that eat the berries are large birds which perch on the summits, such as the crow family.

Juniper had many uses, in making medicines, in ritual, and in cooking, but it's best-known role is in the making of alcohol. As well as the collecting of berries for flavouring gin, juniper wood was a preferred fuel for the fires in distilling illegal whisky - it burns with little smoke.

Walking across the hills this autumn we've seen few Juniper bushes with berries. The plant in the picture above was on the summit of a small knoll near Creag an Airgid, but even it didn't have more than twenty berries in all. Perhaps it's the cooler summer we've had.

More about Juniper in mythology and folklore is here.