Eastern White Cedar

Scientific (Latin) Name: Thuja occidentalis

French name: un Cèdre blanc de l'Est

What does this species need to thrive (think of sunlight, amount of water, soil type, soil depth, soil moisture) For this tree to thrive it needs a certain type of soil, moist well-drained soil over limestone or bedrock where the water is not too acidic. The tree needs partial sunlight in sphagnum bogs or swamps to truly thrive because when the tree is young to grow it needs sunlight but when it’s older it needs shade to reproduce.

Does this tree grow better around some plants than others? The tree will grow best when around eastern white pine, yellow birch, eastern hemlock, silver or red maple, black ash, and white elm. The reason is because these plants have a certain similarity to the eastern white cedar but it’s different for all of them.

What animals use this tree for food/habitat? The tree gives food and shelter to deer, small mammals, bugs, and certain types of birds.

Is this tree native to North america? What can you find out about its history? The tree is native to Southern Ontario and northward to the southern part of Jame bay, where the Boreal forest begins.

Bark

When the trees are young they have smooth and shiny bark but as they grow older the tree's bark goes stringy and hairy. The bark also goes soft and you can peel it off of the tree easily. Our tree is still young so it still has it's baby bark.

Buds

The buds look like an ice cream cone made up of other and smaller ice cream cones. A regular bud is 10-12 mm long but when in a clump of 5 or 6 they can be 20-25 mm long. The buds look like a rose with its petals still up and not bloomed. They are typically green but can be yellow. But our schools Eastern White Cedar doesn't have any buds yet because it's too young.

Leaves/Branches

The eastern white cedar has small green scaly leafs that almost look like mini christmas trees. The branches on our tree are alternating from each other.

Uses

This tree is used for some types of medicine and sometimes perfume

Growth

This species can grow to 15 metres tall and the trunk can have a diameter of 30cm.

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