The Sade tree is closely related to the juniper, as both trees belong to the genus Juniperus. But a mix-up can have fatal consequences. Both species look very similar and are often planted in the garden as ornamental trees.
What distinguishes juniper from Sade tree?
The main difference between juniper (Juniperus communis) and sade tree (Juniperus sabina) lies in the use and toxicity of their fruits. Juniper fruits are edible and used as a spice, while Sade tree fruits are poisonous and can cause serious symptoms.
Juniperus communis
Like the Sade tree, the common juniper is one of the Juniperus species native to Europe. Juniperus communis grows as a shrub and sometimes as a tree, reaching heights of up to twelve meters. Its shoots are upright and covered with individual needles. The leaves are one to two centimeters long and sharply pointed and can cause minor injuries if touched. A light midrib is visible on the top of the needle.
Edible fruits
Juniper flowers from April to May and develops berry-shaped cones that can take up to three years to fully develop. The year after pollination, the fruits are green in color. As the fruit ripens, they become increasingly darker until they finally have a deep blue color and a bluish coating of wax. They contain four to five woody seeds.
Usage:
- as a spice in the winter kitchen
- for marinades, pickling and game dishes
- for flavoring sauerkraut
Juniperus sabina
The Sade tree, also known as the stink juniper, grows like a shrub. The tree remains smaller than the juniper. It grows between one and three meters high and forms predominantly creeping shoots. They are covered in scale-like leaves that are only 0.2 to 0.4 centimeters long. Their upper surface is bluish in color. The species got its German common name from the unpleasant smell that comes to the nose when the leaves are crushed.
Fruits poisonous
The Sade tree blooms between March and May. In summer, berry-shaped cones develop that are spherical in shape. The fruits ripen in the fall of the same year or the following spring. Mature cone fruits have a black-blue frost and contain up to three seeds.
Like all parts of the plant, the fruits are poisonous. The Sade tree used to be a popular ornamental plant in cottage gardens and the fruits were used to abort unborn children. Since the poison attacks the internal organs, the treatment was often fatal for mother and child.
Symptoms:
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Uterine cramps
- Nausea
