Thuja plicata

Western red cedar, canoe cedar, Canoe Cedar

Family: Cupressaceae · Type: tree · Native

Western red cedar is a native tree found in northern coastal California, including Del Norte and Humboldt counties, in coastal conifer forest at elevations below 1,800 meters. A massive conifer with distinctive cinnamon-red bark, this tree can grow 30 to 70 meters tall with young shoots featuring a glossy dark green upper surface and faintly white-streaked lower surface. Growing with thick, fibrous bark approximately 1 to 2 centimeters thick, it develops impressive vertical structure in dense forest environments. Its branches create a complex texture with green foliage that has a characteristic white-streaked undersurface. Producing small light brown seed cones 10 to 19 millimeters long and narrow elliptic seeds 4 to 6 millimeters in length, this tree is a critical component of Pacific Northwest forest ecosystems.

Habitat: Coastal conifer forest

Elevation: < 1800 m

Bioregions: NCo, KR, NCoRO (Del Norte, Humboldt cos.)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.