The Wild

Thuja plicata or sometimes called arbor-vitae, Latin for “tree of life.”

The Western Redcedar is not native to Saskatchewan. It is however one of my favourite trees and the one I will begin my survey with.

As I began to dig into this tree I learned several interesting things. The first; it is not actually a cedar at all. It is part of a group of trees that are called False Cedars.

There are in fact only four species of True Cedar. These are all indigenous to areas overseas. The list of True Cedars includes: Atlas Cedar (Cedrus Atlantica), Cyprian Cedar (Cedrus brevifolia), Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) and Deodar Dedar Tree (Cedrus Deodara).

The list of False Cedars is significantly longer, and I will not detail it. Western redcedar is a large tree, growing up to 60 meters (196ft) tall in maturity. It has drooping branches, and the trunk is often spreads significantly at the base. The USDA lists it as a perennial gymnosperm.

• Leaves: evergreen, scale-like and sharply pointed, opposite in alternating pairs in 4 rows, glossy green on top and white-stripped on the bottom. Spicy fragrance when crushed.
• Cones: egg shaped (ellipsoid), 1 cm long with brown seeds, 8-14 per cone.
• Bark: grey, stringy, and will tear off in long strips. The bark is fibrous, 10-25mm thick, and separated into flat connected ridges.
• Distribution: Coastal, low to mid elevation and in wet interior where climate is cool, mild and moist. Canadian distribution is in British Columbia and Alberta.
• Habitat: will grow in various substrates, often in moist sites with lots of nutrient availability. It is shade tolerant and can live past 1000 years.
• Uses: Very important plant to the Northwest Coast Indigenous culture. The oil is sometimes used as a base for insecticides and medicinal preparations.