WALLACE W HANSENNative Plants of the NorthwestNative Plant Nursery & Gardens
2158 Bower Ct S.E., Salem, Oregon 97317-9216
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Wallace W Hansen Click here for Home Page: www.nwplants.com For information about Wallace W Hansen Northwest Native Plant Nursery & Gardens: Business Information (Ordering, etc.) |
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Updated August 18, 2007Identification of False Cedars |
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| There are no true cedars native to the Pacific Northwest, and the false cedars are sometimes easily confused. Here is a brief summary of distinguishing characteristics that can help identify the different species. | |
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Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens): This is the only
northwest false cedar for which the scale-like leaves are much longer than
they are wide; the tiny leaves are sometimes described as resembling the
shape of a wine glass. Incense cedar does not get as large as red cedar, and the
younger trees tend to grow in the shape of a pyramid rather than conical.
The most distinguishing feature of this species is the small cones
that look very much like a duck’s bill before they open. It grows naturally in the forests of Oregon’s Cascades south into
California. See Calocedrus
decurrens for details on this plant. Check our Sale
site for seasonal pricing. |
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Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana): Although this tree appears quite similar to
Western
red cedar, there
are some obvious differences. The
small round cones are a pale chalky blue color, resembling berries, before
they ripen to brown. The
underside of the flat scale leaves appears to be inscribed with a white
“X” rather than the white butterfly that appears on the underside of red cedar
leaves. The brown
stringy bark grows much thicker than the other false cedars, and the
natural range is a small area along the southern Oregon and northern
California coasts. The root
rot Phytophthora has killed many trees of this species. See
Chamaecyparis
lawsoniana for details on this plant. |
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| Alaska Cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis): Alaska cedar has no distinguishing white markings on the bottom of its scale-like leaves. This tree also grows much smaller than the other false cedars. Unlike red cedar, the foliage is somewhat prickly and the branches create more of a “weeping” appearance. Its range is confined to cold and wet areas near timberline, north from the Cascades of Oregon into Washington (including the Olympic Peninsula) and British Columbia. See Chamaecyparis nootkatensis for details on this plant. |
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Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata):
Bearing a marked
resemblance to the Port Orford Cedar, the Western red cedar is easily
distinguished from it's "false cedar" peers by the discerning
naturalist. Each tree holds both male and female cones, but on separate
branches. The male cones are small and reddish, but the 1/2 inch female
cones are upright and bent backwards along the branch. Another unique
trait is the white butterfly or bow-tie shape underneath the leaves where
they meet in a regular repeating pattern. Preferred habitat for Western
red cedar are boggy, lowland forests or in the mountains with Doug fir and
hemlock where it displays startlingly green and retains the lower branches
as it ages. See Thuja plicata
for details on this plant. |
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