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• Chamaecyparis thyoides

Chamaecyparis thyoides — Atlantic white cedar

Facts

Atlantic white cedar, with its fissured, fibrous bark, thick trunk, and broad base, once dominated virtually impassable swamp forests of the coastal plain. As those swamps have been drained, converted to cranberry production, and mined for bog ore, these large stands have waned. Despite the fact that it mainly inhabits wet peatlands, Atlantic white cedar benefits from periodic fires, which promote seed germination and establishment. The light, water- and rot-resistant wood, that weathers to a silvery-brown hue, has been commonly used for shingles as well as posts, telephone poles, barrels, and other structures that need to withstand weather without the protection of paint. Miniature cultivars, bearing little resemblance to this majestic tree, are widely sold for planting.

Habitat

Bogs, swamps, wetland margins (edges of wetlands)

Characteristics

• Fruits or seeds

  Seed cone base

  NA

  Seed cone bracts

  NA

  Seed cone form

  the seed cone is nearly spherical with woody scales attached in the center

  Seed cone scales

  NA

  Seed cone shape

  the seed cone is globose (spherical)

  Seed cone symmetry

  the seed cone is symmetrical

  Seed cone umbo position

  there is no raised portion on the seed cone scale

  Seed cone umbo spine

  NA

  Seed wings

  the seeds have wing-like projections

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant is a tree

• Leaves

  Leaf arrangement

  there are two needle-like leaves per node

  Leaf base

  NA

  Leaf clustering

  the needle-like leaves are single, with two per node

  Leaf cross-section

  the needle-like leaves are flattened (can't be rolled between the fingers)

  Leaf duration

  the needle-like leaves remain green all winter

  Leaf form

  the leaves are scale-like

  Leaf glands

  the needle-like leaves have glands on the underside

  Leaf stalks

  the needle-like leaves do not have a leaf stalk

  Leaf types

  there are two distinct types of needle-like leaves on the twig

  Leaves overlapping

  NA

• Place

  Habitat

  wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island

  Specific habitat

  • bogs
  • edges of wetlands
  • swamps

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Bark resin blisters

  there are no resin blisters on the bark

  Branchlet thickness

  1 mm

  Leaves on shoots

  the needle-like leaves do not grow in tight clusters on a short, knob-like shoot

  Twig bloom

  there is no bloom on the twig

  Twig hair type

  the twigs have few or no hairs on them

  Twig hairs

  the twig does not have hairs

  Twig winter color

  brown

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae