Western Redcedar
Thuja plicata
The Western Redcedar (Thuja plicata) is a colossal evergreen conifer of the Pacific Northwest, capable of reaching heights of 70 meters and living for over 1,000 years. Despite its common name, it is not a true cedar (Cedrus) but rather a member of the cypress family (Cupressaceae). It holds profound cultural significance for the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest, who have revered it as the "Tree of Life" for millennia, using its wood, bark, and roots for virtually every aspect of their material culture.
• Known as the "Tree of Life" to many Pacific Northwest Indigenous peoples
• Not a true cedar — it belongs to the genus Thuja in the Cupressaceae
• The provincial tree of British Columbia
• One of the most rot-resistant woods in the world, making it invaluable for outdoor construction
• Can live for over 1,000 years, with some specimens estimated at over 1,500 years
• The largest tree in the cypress family by volume
Taxonomie
• Ranges from southeastern Alaska southward through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and into northern California
• Also occurs in the interior wet belt of British Columbia, northern Idaho, and western Montana
• Found at elevations from sea level to approximately 2,000 meters in the Cascade Range
• The most important ceremonial and practical tree for the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest
• First described by the American botanist David Don in 1855
• Known as the "Tree of Life" (shared translation of many Indigenous names) to Coast Salish, Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, and other Pacific Northwest peoples
• The species epithet "plicata" means "folded" or "braided," referring to the arrangement of the branchlets
• Once formed immense old-growth forests throughout the coastal and interior wet belts, many of which have been logged
Size:
• Typically 40 to 60 meters tall, with record specimens reaching 65 to 70 meters
• Trunk diameter: 1 to 3 meters, with the largest specimens exceeding 6 meters
• Crown is narrowly conical, often with a drooping or nodding leader
• Trunk often buttressed at the base in old-growth specimens
Bark:
• Thin (1 to 2.5 cm thick), fibrous, reddish-brown to grayish-brown
• Shreds in long, thin, stringy vertical strips
• The fibrous bark was extensively used by Indigenous peoples for rope, baskets, clothing, and blankets
Branches:
• Form flat, fan-like sprays of branchlets
• Branchlets are arranged in horizontal planes, creating distinctive flattened sprays
Leaves:
• Scale-like, flat, 1 to 4 mm long, overlapped like shingles
• Dark glossy green above, often with whitish butterfly-shaped markings beneath
• Strongly aromatic, emitting a sweet, pineapple-like scent when crushed
• Opposite and decurrent on the stem
Cones:
• Small, erect, ovoid, 10 to 18 mm long
• Composed of 6 to 12 thin, leathery scales
• Greenish to purplish when young, turning reddish-brown at maturity
• Seeds are small, flat, with narrow lateral wings
Habitat:
• Dominates moist, low-elevation forests west of the Cascade crest
• Also found in the interior wet belt of British Columbia and northern Idaho
• Thrives in areas receiving 1,000 to 4,000 mm of annual precipitation
• Prefers moist, rich, well-drained alluvial soils along rivers and streams
• Extremely shade-tolerant, capable of persisting for centuries in the understory
• Often grows in mixture with Douglas fir, western hemlock, and Sitka spruce
Ecosystem role:
• A foundation species that creates unique microclimates with its dense, year-round canopy
• Old-growth western redcedars develop massive cavities and hollow trunks that provide critical denning sites for bears, martens, and raccoons
• Foliage is a primary winter food source for Roosevelt elk and black-tailed deer
• Seeds consumed by pine siskins, crossbills, and chickadees
• The thick, fibrous bark provides nesting material for birds and nesting substrate for invertebrates
• Fallen redcedar logs decompose extremely slowly, providing nurse logs for tree seedlings and habitat for amphibians and invertebrates for centuries
• Redcedar snags are preferred nesting sites for the Vaux's swift and various woodpeckers
Wusstest du schon?
Western redcedar is so culturally central to the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest that the Coast Salish people call it the "Tree of Life" — and with good reason. Traditionally, virtually everything was made from redcedar: longhouses, totem poles, canoes (from a single carved trunk), baskets (from bark), ropes (from withes), clothing (from softened bark), and even baby diapers (from soft inner bark). A single large western redcedar could yield enough material to build an entire house and furnish it.
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