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Thuja occidentalis

Northern/Eastern white cedar

2

Nom français: Thuya occidental, souvent appelé Cèdre (à tort)

Description 2

Family: Cupressaceae (same as the Juniper)
Evergreen scale-like leaves, foliage forms a flat spay. Small cones (around 1 cm). Bark is red-brown, peels in thin, narrow, longitudinal strips. Unlike the closely related western red cedar (Thuja plicata), northern white cedar is only a small or medium-sized tree, growing to a height of 15 m.

Ecology 2

Thuja occidentalis grows naturally in wet forests and is particularly abundant in coniferous swamps where other larger and faster-growing trees cannot compete successfully. It also grows well on hillsides, rocks, cliffs with a thin soil layer. It likes an acidic soil. The tree is highly preferred by white-tailed deer for both shelter and browse. Deer find the soft evergreen foliage a very attractive winter food, and strip it rapidly. In some areas you can observe whole cedar stands with no leaves or branches below the height of the reach or deers. Its foliage can also feed other mammals such as rabbits and hare. Northern white cedar can be a very long-lived tree in certain conditions, with notably old specimens of age estimated over 1,000 years old.

Uses 2

Cedar is an important plant of traditional use in many culture around the world. In the Kanienkehaka nation, it is one of the five sacred plants alongside with sage and sweetgrass. It attracts good energies and keep bad spirits away (ref. Kawisente).

Leaves: The vernacular name arborvitae or "tree of life" dates from the 16th century when the French explorer Cartier learned from the Indians how to use the tree's foliage to treat scurvy. The foliage is rich in vitamin C and edible in small amount. You can taste it for fun! It can be used to make tea, but careful to infuse and not boil it as it contains a neurotoxic compound, thujone.

Wood: Rot and termite resistant. Light. Aromatic. It is used in the construction of decks, poles, planks, fences, shringles.

Fontes e Créditos

  1. (c) Donna Pomeroy, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Donna Pomeroy
  2. (c) Alice Roy-Bolduc, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)

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