Thuja

A dense, conical-to-narrow-pyramidal evergreen tree native to eastern and central North America, prized as a screening and foundation conifer. Flat, fan-like sprays of scale-like, aromatic yellow-green foliage clothe the tree from the ground up, and red-brown bark exfoliates on mature trunks. Wild trees can reach 40 to 60 feet but cultivated plants typically stay near 20 to 30 feet; small urn-shaped cones and dense evergreen cover make it valuable food and shelter for birds.

Western redcedar is the great cedar of the Pacific Northwest rainforest. Silvics of North America says it is the only Thuja native to western North America, and Flora of North America maps two separate ranges: along the coast from southeastern Alaska to northwestern California, and inland in the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to Idaho and Montana. Despite the name it is not a true cedar but a giant arborvitae of the cypress family, the western counterpart of American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis). In the wild it often lives 800 to 1,000 years, and Silvics records a Washington tree 178 feet tall; in a garden NC State Extension expects 50 to 70 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide. It wants cool, moist air and steady moisture at the roots: NC State says it will suffer in hot, humid climates and does not tolerate drought or dry winds. Its soft, very durable wood is a major timber, and Flora of North America notes that Northwest Coast peoples built lodges, totem poles and seagoing canoes from it.