Family: Cupressaceae, Cypress view all from this family
Description Evergreen, aromatic tree with trunk often angled and buttressed at base and narrow, compact, columnar crown; sometimes becoming broad and irregular.
Height: 40-60' (12-18 m).
Diameter: 1-2' (0.3-0.6 m).
Leaves: evergreen; opposite in 4 rows forming slender 4-angled twigs; 1/16" (1.5 mm) long, to 3/8" (10 mm) long on leaders. Scalelike, not toothed; dark green, with gland-dot.
Bark: reddish-brown; thin, fibrous and shreddy.
Cones: 1/4-3/8" (6-10 mm) in diameter; berrylike; dark blue with a bloom; soft, juicy, sweetish, and resinous; 1-2 seeds. Pollen cones on separate trees.
Warning Berries poisonous if eaten in large quantities. Sensitivity to a toxin varies with a person’s age, weight, physical condition, and individual susceptibility. Children are most vulnerable because of their curiosity and small size. Toxicity can vary in a plant according to season, the plant’s different parts, and its stage of growth; and plants can absorb toxic substances, such as herbicides, pesticides, and pollutants from the water, air, and soil.
Habitat From dry uplands, especially limestone, to flood plains and swamps; also abandoned fields and fence rows; often in scattered pure stands.
Range S. Ontario and widespread in eastern half of United States from Maine south to N. Florida, west to Texas, and north to North Dakota.
Discussion The most widely distributed eastern conifer, native in 37 states, Eastern Red Cedar is resistant to extremes of drought, heat, and cold. The aromatic wood is used for fenceposts, cedar chests, cabinetwork, and carvings. First observed at Roanoke Island, Virginia, in 1564, it was prized by the colonists for building furniture, rail fences, and log cabins. Cedar oil for medicine and perfumes is obtained from the wood and leaves. The heartwood was once almost exclusively the source of wood for pencils; Incense Cedar ( Calocedrus decurrens Torr.) is now used instead. Grown for Christmas trees, shelterbelts, and in many cultivated varieties for ornament. The juicy "berries" are consumed by many kinds of wildlife, including the cedar waxwing, named for this tree. Red Cedar can be injurious to apple orchards because it is an alternate host for cedar-apple rust, a fungus disease.
