Also called Pacific redcedar, giant cedar, giant arborvitae, western arborvitae, and shinglewood.  Although do not confuse with similar-named ◼︎ eastern red cedar  Juniperus virginiana.

Part of arborvitae/cedar  genus Thuja in cypress / juniper / redwood  family Cupressaceae in 🌲︎ conifer  order Pinales.


Native to 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 North America's Pacific Northwest (Cascadia).

🗺 Map (scroll down), 🗺 map by county (🇺🇸 USA-48) (color key), 🗺 map (North America, Central America).  Adobe Acrobat Reader file

🏛🌲︎ Provincial tree of British Columbia.

Uses by native peoples
(Ethnobotany database)   🪵 Wood from this tree was split to make wooden shingles.  Remaining old-growth wood still coming to market is used to make 🎸︎ guitars, ukuleles and mandolins.

Thuja hosts caterpillars of 49 species
of butterflies and moths, in some areas.

"Has this iconic Northwest tree reached a tipping point?"  The Seattle Times.   Accessed .

Learn more about ◼︎ western redcedar Thuja plicata

🔍︎ 🔍︎ images Discover Life Encyclopedia of Life Gymnosperm database Missouri Botanical Garden Flora of North America USDA PLANTS db USFS USFS Silvics Wikipedia

Navigate to pages that link here

🏠︎ 🌲︎ conifer  order Pinales cypress / juniper / redwood  family Cupressaceae

◼︎ eastern red cedar  Juniperus virginiana