Juniper berry Juniper berry A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which give it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species, especially "Juniperus communis", are used as a spice, particularly in European cuisine, and also give gin its distinctive flavour. Juniper berries may be the only spice derived from conifers. All juniper species grow berries, but some are considered too bitter to eat. In addition to "J. communis", other edible species include "Juniperus drupacea", "Juniperus phoenicea",
Cotton gin Cotton gin A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation. The fibers are then processed into various cotton goods such as linens, while any undamaged cotton is used largely for textiles like clothing. The separated seeds may be used to grow more cotton or to produce cottonseed oil. Handheld roller gins had been used in the Indian subcontinent since at earliest AD 500 and then in other regions. The Indian worm-gear roller gin, invented some time around the sixteenth century, has, according to Lakwete,