Object Details
Description
Northern white cedar is an aromatic tree that can withstand cold conditions. Oil from the leaves is used in perfumes and in medicine, and the leaves are rich in vitamin C. In fact, one of the other names for northern white cedar, arborvitae, is Latin for “tree of life.” This honorific was given to the tree in 1536 when members of the Huron tribe showed a French captain how to stop his crew from dying of scurvy by using the tree.
Northern white cedar is Threatened in Maryland, Connecticut, Kentucky, and Illinois, Endangered in Indiana, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, and of Special Concern in Tennessee.
Hardiness
-50 - 10 F
Ethnobotanical Uses
Oil from this tree is used in cleansers, disinfectants, hair preparations, insecticides, liniments, room sprays, and soaps. Ojibwa made a soup from the inner bark of young twigs.
Medicinal / Pharmaceutical
Twigs used by some to make a tea to relieve constipation and headaches. Vitamin C rich foliage was used by some Native Americans and early European explorers to treat scurvy.
Provenance
Uncertain
Accession Number
2011-0399A
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Life Form
Evergreen tree
Average Height
20-40'
Bark Characteristics
Red-brown bark exfoliates with age.
Cone Characteristics
Seed cones are oval and brown with 8 seeds per a cone. .35-.5" long.
Foliage Characteristics
Scale-like, aromatic, yellow-green to green foliage grows in flattened sprays.
Structure
Conical to narrow-pyramidal
Range
C and E Canada to NC and E USA
Habitat
Upland seepage areas, old fields, limestone cliffs, boulder fields, lowland swamps, streambanks, lakeshores; 0-1300 meters
See more items in
Smithsonian Gardens Tree Collection
On Display
Ripley Gardens
Common Name
American arborvitae
Eastern arborvitae
white cedar
Group
[vascular plants]
Class
Equisetopsida
Subclass
Pinidae
Order
Cupressales
Family
Cupressaceae
Genus
Thuja
Species
occidentalis
Data Source
Smithsonian Gardens
Topic
Trees
Living Collections
Link to Original Record
Record ID
ofeo-sg_2011-0399A