Western Red Cedar: (Thuja plicata)

A species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada, from southern Alaska and British Columbia south to northwest California and inland to western Montana. It is one of two arborvitaes native to North America; not a true cedar (Cedrus), but is the source of what are called cedar shingles.

What exactly is Western Red Cedar?

Western redcedar is a large tree, to 55-75 m tall and 3 m (exceptionally 7 m) trunk diameter. It is among the most widespread trees in the Pacific Northwest, and is associated with Douglas-fir and western hemlock in most places where it grows. In addition to growing in lush forests, western redcedar is also a riparian tree, and grows in many forested swamps and streambanks in its range. The tree is shade-tolerant, and able to reproduce under dense shade. Western redcedar is the Provincial tree of British Columbia. It is also known (mainly in the American horticultural trade) as Giant Arborvitae. The foliage forms flat sprays with scale-like leaves in opposite pairs, with successive pairs at 90° to each other. The foliage sprays are green above, and green marked white with stomatal bands below. The cones are slender, 15-20 mm long and 4-5 mm broad, with 8-12 thin, overlapping scales. The name western redcedar is also sometimes split into three words as 'Western Red Cedar', though this can cause confusion, as it is not a cedar.

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