What gives the heath its distinctive character are the countless specimens of the mostly bushy common juniper. Columnar growth forms are also found among them. Alongside the juniper stands, which are broken up by wild roses, blackthorn, and hawthorn, a magnificent steppe heath has managed to thrive on the rocks and rocky areas. Juniper Heath near Gungolding The Gungolding Juniper Heath originated in the Middle Ages through forest clearance and livestock grazing. Dry grassland plant species were then able to spread across the area. Here we find magnificent cushions of rock pink and the very rare sedgewort, the bare-leaved heath-rose, also a very rare species, and three gentians: spring gentian, fringed gentian, and German gentian. These valuable, man-made plant habitats require constant maintenance through sheep grazing, otherwise bushes and forest would reclaim the heath. The Gungolding juniper heath is considered the most beautiful in the southern Franconian Jura, although a few decades ago many juniper trees were still being felled due to their versatility. Incense made from the branches was used not only to smoke ham and sausage, but also to ward off disease, pestilence, and evil forces in the home and yard. According to popular belief, whip handles made from juniper wood were supposed to protect horses from witchcraft, while butter sticks were supposed to prevent the evil influence of neighbors on the butter's production. The blue-black juniper berry, which ripens on the female bushes in two years and is permitted to be harvested, while other plant parts are now completely protected, also has a wide variety of uses: as a prized spice for sauerkraut, game, and fish dishes, as a base for the production of juniper schnapps, and as a remedy for liver, kidney, and bladder ailments, as well as rheumatism and gout, which Sebastian Kneipp recommended.