Thuja occidentalis L.

Taxonomy: Plantae> Tracheophytes > Pinophyta > Pinopsida > Pinales > Cupressaceae > Thuja > T. occidentalis

Description: small-sized, averaging 12 m (40 ft) high, evergreen. Crown is conical, dense, layered and compact. Branches arching. Trunk strongly tapered, often gnarled with thin reddy-brown bark. Branchlets yellowish-green, clad in sheathing foliage, forming flat, fan-shaped sprays. Leaves opposite; scale-like, closely overlapping, successive pairs at right angles; upper and lower leaves flat, with a protruding resin gland, lateral leaves folded, clasping the flat leaves. Flowers are monoecious, the male and female flowers of eastern white-cedar are usually borne on separate twigs or branchlets; they are tiny, terminal, cone-like bodies. Male flowers are yellowish and arise from branchlets near the base of the shoot; female flowers are pinkish and appear at the tips of short terminal branchlets. Fruits ripe cones are pale cinnamon brown, oblong, and 8 - 13 mm (0.3 - 0.5 in) long. Woody scales of mature female cones enclose double-winged seeds which are released the year after development.

Flowering and fruiting:

Uses: Leaves and leaf oil are used as a medicine.Thuja is used for respiratory tract infections.

Cultivation:

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org