Western Red Cedar
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British Columbia Outdoor Wilderness Guide

Westred2.Jpg
WESTERN RED CEDAR
thuja plicata

  • Other common names for the Western Red Cedar: Giant Arbor-Vitae, Canoe-cedar, Pacific Red-cedar, Shinglewood
  • The Western Red Cedar is British Columbia's official tree
  • Western Red Cedar can be referred to as 'arbor-vitae' or "tree of life"

UNIQUE FEATURES:

  • Western Red Cedar has drooping branches that turn up at tip
  • Trunk spreading out at the base
  • Western Red Cedar has large number of cones bent backward along the branches

LOCATION:

  • Western Red Cedar grows in low to mid elevations
  • Western Red Cedar is found on the coast and wet belt of the Interior
  • In cool, mild, moist locations
  • Western Red Cedar can grow in shaded areas with lots of nutrients

SIZE:

  • Western Red Cedar grows up to 60 metres tall

CONES:

  • seed cones: egg shaped
  • 1 cm long with several pairs of scales
  • pollen cones: small, reddish

Westred3.Gif

Westred1.Jpg NEEDLES/LEAVES:

  • are scale-like
  • lie in pairs
  • overlapping like shingles
  • very strong aroma

BARK:

  • grey
  • stringy - tearing off in long strips

WOOD CHARACTERISTICS:

  • resistant to decay and insect damage
  • wood can remain sound for over 100 years

USES:

  • modern - house siding, interior paneling, outdoor furniture, decking, fencing, roof shakes
  • traditional - wood: canoes, totem poles, longhouses, household boxes, tools, paddles; pounded fibres: mats, clothing, baskets, nets, fishing lines; medicines, religious masks

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Western Red Cedar