Atlantic White Cedar
Chamaecyparis thyoides
Atlantic white cedars can form dense stands. (dogtooth77/Flickr)
The Atlantic white cedar is a tall evergreen tree with scaly, fan-shaped foliage and a cone-like shape. It grows in swamps, marshes and other wet areas near the coast in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
Appearance:
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Fan-like sprays of scaly, flattened, green or bluish-green leaves
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Young trees have needle-like leaves
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Tree tapers to a point, giving it a cone-like shape
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Tiny, rounded, light blue cones
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Tiny, green or reddish-yellow flowers that appear in March-April
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Reddish-brown bark
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Can grow to 75 feet tall
Habitat:
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Grows in low, wet areas, including freshwater marshes, swamps, river banks and wet woods
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Forms dense stands
Range:
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Grows in a narrow portion of the Chesapeake Bay’s coastal plain, including Delaware, Maryland and Virginia
Reproduction and Life Cycle:
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Cones mature at the end of the first growing season, in September-October
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During a good year, as many as 8-9 million seeds may be disbursed per acre in dense cedar stands
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Each cone contains 5-15 winged seeds, which are spread by wind
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Seeds can remain viable on the forest floor for many years
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Seedlings grow into saplings at about one foot per year
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Individual trees may live up to 1,000 years, but it is rare for stands to live longer than 200 years
Other Facts:
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Although it is called a cedar, the Atlantic white cedar is actually a cypress
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Leaves are very aromatic
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Songbirds and white-tailed deer use Atlantic white cedars as food
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White cedar charcoal was used to make gunpowder during the Revolutionary War
Sources and Additional Information:
