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<\/figure>Eastern Red Cedar is a pioneer species, which means it is one of the first to thrive in cleared or damaged land. Pioneer plants, when grown within their native range, are great healers of the land. They grow where other plants cannot. They stabilize vulnerable soil to protect it from erosion. They restart the cycle of nutrients. They provide food and shelter for wildlife until some of the longer term species are able to establish themselves in that area. Slowly, they turn the land back into a place where many forms of life can flourish. Once this transformation is complete, other taller trees will cast their shade over Eastern Red Cedar. It grows fast and produces many seeds that will also grow, but its dominance is short lived in the scheme of things.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
I have many Eastern Red Cedar trees here, and most remain untouched by grazing animals. More sprout up every year. They grow rapidly and reproduce abundantly. One might even call them “weedy”. Actually, they’re frequently called weedy. If your goal is to keep your land clear and open, this tree might get in your way. When young, it’s very prickly, and unpleasant to the touch. For these reasons, it often gets a bad rap, even among native plant enthusiasts. I get it. We all have spaces that we want to claim for our own plans. We meticulously tend our gardens and lawns and even our farms, removing every trace of unplanned growth. I started out that way too. But as I mature into the farmer and land steward that I am becoming, I notice that I find the most joy in chaos. The surprises, the volunteer plants, the insects and animals that are eating the fruits of my hard labor… those are often more interesting and more welcome than whatever I originally set out to do. Sometimes I have to draw a hard line, and I’m still learning where that line is. But I welcome at least a little surprise, at least little disorder, everywhere. Eastern Red Cedar has been one of those welcome surprises for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Eastern Red Cedar tree offers tremendous benefit for wildlife. It also has edible, medicinal, spiritual, and artistic uses for humans. The twigs and needles are traditionally bundled together, dried, and burned ceremonially like an incense. The wood is beautiful, and prized in the construction of musical instruments. It provides valuable cover for many forms of wildlife, and an emergency food source for animals when winter is harsh and little else is green. It is a host plant for twenty-two species of butterfly and moth caterpillars. Many birds eat the small blue seed cones (often called fruits), as do many wild animals. People sometimes eat them too, in tiny quantities as a seasoning or as an herbal medicine. Is it an accident that this life-sustaining tree grows vigorously and prolifically in places where little else can grow? They are the places where it is most especially needed.<\/p>\n<\/div> Note: This article discusses edible and medicinal wild plants. Always do your own thorough research before touching, foraging or ingesting any plant that’s new to you. Identification mistakes can happen and so can allergies, interactions, and idiosyncratic reactions. Many herbal remedies are contraindicated in certain health conditions. Information presented in this article and elsewhere on this web site is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any health conditions. View our full disclaimer here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fruit is so popular with birds and other wildlife that they spread the seeds far and wide, and this tree springs up far away from parent trees. I’ve found it throughout most of my land, from dry to marshy spaces, but not in the floodplain. It grows on the edges of tree lines and in open fields, but not in the dark of the woods. The first year, it’s very small such that it’s barely recognizable as a tree at all. By the second year, it may reach about one foot tall. After that it grows rapidly, surpassing the height of an adult human being by the fourth or fifth year. They transplant well in their younger, smaller years, so if you find one growing in a place that doesn’t suit you, dig it up in the crisp chill of autumn and move it to a more convenient location. I’m slowly working to establish a living hedge of these trees around the borders of my fields, one little tiny transplant at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I didn’t plant this tree, it volunteered to grow here. I welcome it in my field. When I see a new one sprouting up through the goldenrod, I mow around it or transplant it. I’ve often been cautioned to remove these trees, to prevent them from taking over the whole field. But my land doesn’t want to be a meadow. It’s on its way to becoming a great forest. Eastern Red Cedar is helping this land realize its highest purpose.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n If red cedar trees become too numerous someday, maybe I’ll remove or relocate some of them. Maybe the deer will take care of that for me. Eventually, the canopy trees will shade some of them out, since these trees do not grow well in shade. For now, I rejoice in all the (non-invasive) green life that wants to thrive here. My eyes welcome the green relief these trees provide during the bleakest days of winter. My body relaxes as I breathe in the sweet smelling smoke from the twig bundle I burn in meditation most nights. My heart softens in the presence of these prickly beings, in gratitude for their partnership in our shared goal of a healed, whole, and vibrant ecosystem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re interested in learning more about native plants, their uses, and the many reasons to grow them, you might enjoy these other articles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why I Farm Native Plant Foods<\/a> Eastern Red Cedar trees (Juniperus virginiana) grow rapidly and produce abundantly. They have a reputation for being “weedy”, but here within their native range, they offer great benefits to the land, to the wildlife, and to we humans. Read the full article to learn more about the ecological contributions of this amazing native tree!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[380],"tags":[88,138,178,140,83,47,270],"class_list":["post-5150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-native-plants","tag-food-forest","tag-forest-gardening","tag-indiana-native-plants","tag-native-plant-agriculture","tag-permaculture","tag-wetland-farming","tag-woodland"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/D3S0233-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5150"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5173,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5150\/revisions\/5173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/strawberrymoonfarm.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/D3S0228-1-681x1024.jpg\"){kind=spacer}
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<\/figure>For Further Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
American Persimmon<\/a>
Pawpaw : The Indiana Banana<\/a>
Native Plant Foods in Indiana Culture<\/a>
Oaks of Indiana<\/a>
Which Plants Are Native To Your Area, and How are they Used? Here\u2019s How to Find Out!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"