Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)
The Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) is a very common feature in our forests here on the west coast and because of this, it has been named British Columbia’s official tree. Ironically enough, the Western Red Cedar actually belongs to the Cypress (Cupressaceae) family and is not a true Cedar (Cedrus). Nonetheless, it has great spiritual significance in the Northwest Coast Aboriginal culture and is sometimes called ‘Arbor Vitae’ meaning ‘Tree of Life’. The Red Cedar has a beautiful, strong aroma and its parts were used by the aboriginals in all aspects of life including: the making of canoes, clothing, house planks, bento boxes, baskets, rope, and even in medicine.
The Western Red Cedar is typically found in cool temperatures at low to mid elevations along coast lines and likes moist to wet nutrient rich soils. When mature, the Western Red Cedar can reach heights of 60 m (196 ft) and has a characteristically wide trunk taper. These trees are long lived and can sometimes reach 1,000 years old. The Hollow Stump, which is a popular attraction in Stanley Park, is a Western Red Cedar which shows just how long they can stick around for. They can live so long because they grow slowly and are resistant to insects and decay. For this reason, Cedar wood is used extensively in construction. The Western Red Cedar does have some associated problems: wildlife enjoys eating the foliage which, if the tree is young enough, could eventually kill it and it can also be susceptible to root rots.
Being a coniferous, the Red Cedar holds its leaves all year long. The Latin word ‘plicata’ means ‘folded in plaits’ which refers to the arrangement of its leaves. Its leaves are scale-like and look like overlapping shingles and its branches tend to ‘droop’. This is part of Nature’s smart engineering to have the foliage lay flat in wind storms reducing wind sail and allowing winds to flow through the canopy. Its bark is grey and stringy and its cones are ~1cm long and egg-shaped with scales.
In many areas in the lower mainland, especially the North Shore and West Vancouver, these Cedar trees have been maintained as part of the landscape when development first occurred. At this point, these Cedars are very large and generally 50-100 years old. The Western Red Cedar develops shallow fibrous rooting systems and unfortunately does not deal well with disruption within its root zone. Therefore, when new development happens near these trees they become stressed and sometimes that stress can reduce their mortality or even kill them.
