This aromatic member of the cypress family
grows to 150 feet (46 meters). The foliage forms flat sprays that often
have a vertical
orientation, unlike western
red cedar,
which has drooping sprays with a horizontal orientation.
Leaves:
Incense cedar
has small, flat scale-like leaves forming overlapping, long,
wedge-shaped
joints. The leaves are often described as forming the shape of a wine
glass, but beer drinkers would swear that they are shaped like a beer
glass. This pattern, often
outlined in white, is distinct to incense cedar. The
leaves
release a distinctive aroma when crushed.
Cones:
The differences
that distinguish incense cedar leaves and bark from other cedars may be
subtle,
but incense cedar cones are unmistakably unique. They are shaped like a
duck's bill, and when they mature, they
open, showing the open bill with its tongue sticking out.
Bark:
The
reddish-brown bark looks similar to the bark of the other native
cedars,
but it is deeply furrowed on large trees.
Where
it grows: Incense cedar grows in the Cascades at
elevations up to 6000 feet (1800 meters). A
few
grow nearly as far north as Mount Hood but it grows more extensively as
you travel south through the Cascades to the Siskiyous and coastal
mountains of southwest Oregon. It also grows in many mountainous areas
of California.
Incense cedar at Hoyt
Arboretum
Uses:
Most pencils
were once made from incense cedar. It was also used to make aromatic
cedar
chests. It is often grown as an ornamental, and is used in Christmas
wreaths. Its bright yellow pollen cones ripen in late fall, just in
time to give Christmas wreaths tiny bursts of bright color.
Names:
Calocedrus
means "beautiful cedar." Decurrens
describes how
the leaves
extend down the stem. The English form of the word is "decurrent."
Other common names: White cedar and California post cedar.
Note that incense cedar
is not a true cedar. That is,
its genus is not Cedrus,
the genus of the true
cedars from the Middle East and Himalayas.
Some writers indicate this by writing
the
name as "incense-cedar."
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