western redcedar Cupressaceae Thuja plicata

Leaf:Persistent, scale-like, and arranged in decussate pairs; yellow-green on top with a distinctive butterfly shaped bloom pattern on the underside. Individual leaves are typically 1/16 to 1/8 inch long and sets of four are roughly square. Foliage arranged in flattened sprays, dead leaves fall in sprays.
Flower:Species is monoecious; male cones are small and inconspicuous; female cones are small, reddish purple, and borne near the tips of branches.
Fruit:Small woody cones (1/2 inch long) with thin, valvate scales arranged in 5 to 6 decussate pairs; typically upturned on the branches.
Twig:Younger twigs are flattened while older twigs are round, slender, flexible, and slightly zigzag; reddish brown.
Bark:Thin (1/2 to 3/4 inch thick), fibrous, stringy, and reddish brown; finely ridged and furrowed; intertwined; comes off in long strips.
Form:A large evergreen conifer that grows to 200 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter (sometimes more). Has an open, pyramidal crown with pendulous, frond-like branches. Base of trunk is often swollen and fluted.

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