Cedar wood

Last updated October 12, 2019

Cedar wood comes from several different trees known as cedars that grow in different parts of the world, and may have different uses.

Atlantic white cedar, from Chamaecyparis thyoides , used for building, fences, and shingles.
California incense-cedar, from Calocedrus decurrens , is the primary type of wood used for making pencils
Taiwan incense-cedar, comes from Calocedrus formosana , an endangered species that has been over-harvested for its fragrant decay-resistant wood
Chinese incense-cedar, comes from Calocedrus macrolepis , which has been over-harvested for its fragrant decay-resistant wood
Cigar-box cedar or Spanish cedar, from Cedrela odorata , is fragrant, insect-repellent, and light-weight, primarily used to protect clothing from insects
Cedar from Cedrus , was once an important timber in the Mediterranean area, specially in Mount Lebanon, used for building and shipbuilding, but severely overexploited for thousands of years.
Port Orford cedar, from the western North American tree Chamaecyparis lawsoniana , is light-weight and durable, used for arrow shafts and particularly valued in east Asia
Japanese cedar, from Cryptomeria japonica , is a light-weight wood used for indoor house-building
Mexican white cedar from Cupressus lusitanica , comes from a drought-resistant tree that has been widely cultivated for its timber for centuries
Eastern red cedar from Juniperus virginiana , is soft, red, fine-grained, fragrant, and decay-resistant, often used for fence posts
Ceylon cedar from Melia azedarach , is a high-quality timber that resembles Burmese teak
Western red cedar from Thuja plicata , is soft red-brown, aromatic, decay and insect resistant, primarily used for outdoor construction, fences, shingles, and guitar-making
Northern white cedar from Thuja occidentalis , comes from a relatively small tree, and is used for canoe-making, log cabins, fences, and shingles
Australian red cedar from Toona ciliata , is red, highly valued, and easy to work, used for furniture-making and shipbuilding

Chamaecyparis thyoides, a species of Cupressaceae, is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to Georgia and along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Florida to Mississippi. It is one of two species of Chamaecyparis found in North America. C. thyoides resides on the East Coast and C. lawsoniana can be found on the West Coast. There are two geographically isolated subspecies, treated by some botanists as distinct species, by others at just varietal rank: Chamaecyparis thyoides thyoides and Chamaecyparis thyoides henryae (H.L.Li) E.Murray The species grows in forested wetlands where they tend to dominate the canopy. The trees are associated with a wide variety of other wetland species because of their wide north-south range. The remaining populations are now found mostly in remote locations that would be difficult to harvest, so its popularity as a source of lumber has decreased.

Wood shingles are thin, tapered pieces of wood primarily used to cover roofs and walls of buildings to protect them from the weather. Historically shingles were split from straight grained, knot free bolts of wood. Today shingles are mostly made by being cut which distinguishes them from shakes which are made by being split out of a bolt.

Calocedrus decurrens, with the common names incense cedar and California incense-cedar, is a species of conifer native to western North America, with the bulk of the range in the United States, from central western Oregon through most of California and the extreme west of Nevada, and also a short distance into northwest Mexico in northern Baja California. It grows at altitudes of 50–2,900 metres (160–9,510 ft). It is the most widely known species in the genus, and is often simply called 'incense cedar' without the regional qualifier.

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Cedrus is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalayas and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean.

Thuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae. There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to Thujopsis. Members are commonly known as arborvitaes, thujas or cedars.

Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers, as well as Amborella. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees.

Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera, which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecious trees and shrubs up to 116 m (381 ft) tall. The bark of mature trees is commonly orange- to red- brown and of stringy texture, often flaking or peeling in vertical strips, but smooth, scaly or hard and square-cracked in some species.

Cryptomeria is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica. It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as sugi. The tree is called Japanese cedar or Japanese redwood in English.

Cupressus nootkatensis is a species of trees in the cypress family native to the coastal regions of northwestern North America. This species goes by many common names including: Nootka cypress, yellow cypress, Alaska cypress, Nootka cedar, yellow cedar, Alaska cedar, and Alaska yellow cedar. The specific epithet "nootkatensis" is derived from its discovery on the lands of a First Nation of Canada, those lands of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, who were formerly referred to as the Nootka.

Thuja plicata, commonly called western red cedar or Pacific red cedar, giant arborvitae or western arborvitae, giant cedar, or shinglewood, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae native to western North America. It is not a true cedar of the genus Cedrus.

Thuja occidentalis, also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white cedar, or eastern arborvitae, is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to eastern Canada and much of the north, central and upper Northeastern United States, but widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, and the binomial name remains current.

Cedar is the common name for cedar wood, used for several different trees that grow in different parts of the world.

Libocedrus is a genus of five species of coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to New Zealand and New Caledonia. The genus is closely related to the South American genera Pilgerodendron and Austrocedrus, and the New Guinean genus Papuacedrus, both of which are included within Libocedrus by some botanists. These genera are rather similar to the Northern Hemisphere genera Calocedrus and Thuja: in earlier days, what is now Calocedrus was sometimes included in Libocedrus. They are much less closely related, as recently confirmed. The generic name means "teardrop cedar", apparently referring to drops of resin.

Juniperus bermudiana is a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda. This species is most commonly known as Bermuda cedar, but is also referred to as Bermuda juniper. Historically, this tree formed woodland that covered much of Bermuda. Settlers cleared part of the forest and the tree was used for many purposes including building construction and was especially prized for shipbuilding. However scale insects introduced during World War II devastated the forests, killing over 99% of the Bermuda cedar. Since then, the salt tolerant casuarina has been planted as a replacement species, and a small number of Bermuda cedars have been found to be resistant to the scale insects. Populations of certain endemic birds which had co-evolved with the tree have plummeted as a result of its demise.

Syntexis libocedrii, is the only living species in the wood wasp family Anaxyelidae, within the Symphyta, though the family has an extensive Mesozoic fossil record. This species is thus a "living fossil". It has the remarkable behavior of ovipositing only in recently burnt incense-cedar (Calocedrus), red cedar (Thuja) or juniper (Juniperus). The wood is often still smoldering while the wasp is laying its eggs, and the larvae develop in the wood. S. libocedrii occurs from the mountains of central California to southern British Columbia, but is very rarely seen, except by firefighters.

Calocedrus macrolepis is a conifer native to southwest China, northern Vietnam, northern Laos, extreme northern Thailand and northeastern Myanmar.

Chamaecyparis formosensis is a species of Chamaecyparis, endemic to Taiwan, where it grows in the central mountains at moderate to high altitudes of 1000–2900 m. It is threatened by habitat loss and over-cutting for its valuable timber.

Widdringtonia whytei, the Mulanje cedar or Mulanje cypress, is a species of Widdringtonia native to Malawi, where it is endemic to the Mulanje Massif at altitudes of 1,830-2,550 m. It has become endangered as a result of over-harvesting for its wood, and an increase in the frequency of wildfires due to human activity.

The Arboretum Park Härle is a nonprofit arboretum located on the slopes of the Rhine Valley between Bonn and the Seven Mountains at Büchelstraße 40, Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is open twice a month during the warmer months; admission is free.

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Cedar wood

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