• Botanical Name: Juniperus communis L.
• Family: Cupressaceae
• Flowering and fruiting: April-May
• Parts Used: Leaves and berries.
• Distribution: The plants prefer drier areas and abundant in central and eastern Nepal at an altitude ranging between 1800-3600m, Himalaya (Kashmir to Bhutan), Afghanistan.
• Method of Extraction: steam distillation of needles and young twings of Juniperus communis L.

Description:

A dense erect shrub to 1.5m or at high altitude a prostrate shrub. Leaves needle-like sharp-pointed, 6-13mm long, with a broad bluish, white band above, in whorls of 3. Male cones ovoid, recalling leaf buds; female cone blue-black when ripe.

Specification of Juniper
1. Organoleptic Properties
Appearance	Mobile liquid.
Color	Water white or pale yellow
Aroma	Rich-balsamic, woody-sweet and pine needle like odor.
2. Physico-chemical Properties
Specific gravity	0.8563 to 0.8731 at 23°C.
Optical rotation	[-] 22º to [-] 41.7º at 23º C
Refractive index	1.481 to 1.899 at 23°C
Acid number	0.5 to 2.5
Ester number	3.06 to 20
Ester number after acetylation	40 to 65
Solubility	Some oils are soluble in 95% alcohol and some are not.
3. Chemical constituent:
ά- pinene, sabinene and ά- terpinene as major components and others are camphene, β- pinene, δ-3-carene, myrcene, limonene, β-phellandrene, γ-terpinene, p-cymene, terpinolene, trans-3-ethoxy-p-menth-1-ene, campholenic aldehyde, camphor, ά-copaene, bornyl acetate, terpinen-4-ol, caryophyllene, ά-terpineol.
4. Uses
In perfumery and flavors. Aromatherapy: Rheumatism, anxiety, insomnia, stress