Redcedar, Western
Thuja plicata
Cupressaceae - Cypress

Description

Leaves: Yellowish-green to dark green and shiny; often underside is somewhat streaked with white; scale-like leaves tiny (up to 1/8") while lance-shaped leaves (on leading shoots) slightly larger (up to 1/4"); leaves flat and grooved to round and keeled; persistent for 2-5 years; smells fruity when crushed; evergreen.

Twigs/buds: Twigs yellowish-green above, often whitish or silvery below, leaf-covered, thin, flattened; shoots (branchlets) tapering, oftentimes fern-like, pendulous (overhanging). Buds very small, inconspicuous, not covered.

Flowers/fruit: Flowers monoecious; male flowers yellowish to brownish; female flowers pinkish; inconspicuous, terminal (grow at end of stem). Fruit a cone; green to brown; erect, leathery to woody, slender, egg-shaped to oblong, 1/3" to 1/2" in length, sharply pointed near tip; ripens late in summer after 1 season, falls off in winter; covered in scales (2-3 pairs), scales spine-tipped; seed dark brown, 1/8" in length, laterally winged (wing width approximately that of seed).

Bark: Cinnamon-red when young, reddish-brown to gray-brown when older; shiny while young, thin; shredded and flatly and narrowly ridged when older, fibrous; used by Native Americans for making items such as baskets, mats, and clothing.

Wood: Important; heartwood pink or red-brown to darker brown, decay-resistant; sapwood yellow-white, less decay-resistant; soft, fragrant, light in weight, durable, rather weak and easy to split; strait-grained; used commercially to make shingles, poles or posts, patios, siding, boats, doors, and interior finishing; used traditionally by Native Americans to make dugout canoes, totem poles, spears, arrows, and other tools.

General: Native to the rain-forests of the Pacific Northwest and also to northern Idaho and western Montana; not Utah. The wood and bark were traditionally harvested and depended on by Native Americans in the northwest U.S.; and its wood is still used commercially in the U.S. Medium to large tree, often 50' to 70' in height, sometimes reaching heights of over 130', but can be stunted under harsh conditions. Canopy is narrowly cone-shaped and irregular, with arching branches. Similar to northern whitecedar; not a true cedar. Prefers full sun to partial shade and moist, fertile soils.

Landscape Use: An attractive conifer common in Europe, but rarely planted in Utah; several of the cultivars may do well in zones 5-7. Cultivated for ornament, with many cultivars. Ideal as a specimen; can be used for hedges, screens, groupings, or as a highway median. Base commonly buttressed (broadened and flared). Zones 5-7.

Cultivars: 'Atrovirens', 'Can Can', 'Canadian Gold', 'Clemson Select', 'Collyer's Gold', 'Copper Kettle', 'Cuprea', 'Elegantissima', 'Fastigiata', 'Green Giant', 'Green Sport', 'Pumila', 'Sunshine', 'Whipcord', 'Zebrina', 'Zebrina Extra Gold'.

Characteristics

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