Thuja plicata (Western Red Cedar)

Western Red Cedar is the cornerstone tree of the Pacific Northwest and one of the most culturally and ecologically significant conifers native to Oregon's coast. Thuja plicata grows naturally in the moist forests from Alaska south through Oregon and Northern California, forming some of the most impressive groves in the region. The flat, scale-like foliage is a deep, glossy green above with a distinctive butterfly pattern of whitish markings underneath, and the whole plant carries a warm, spicy fragrance that is quintessentially Northwest.

In the landscape, Western Red Cedar is versatile. Given space it will grow into a majestic pyramidal tree with drooping lower branches and deeply furrowed reddish-brown bark, reaching heights of 50 to 70 feet at maturity, though it grows slowly enough to be manageable in most settings. It can also be sheared into a formal hedge or windbreak and tolerates a range of soils from moist flats to moderately drained slopes. On the coast it handles salt-laden wind far better than many ornamentals.

Western Red Cedar has been called the cornerstone of Northwest Coast Indigenous culture, providing rot-resistant wood for canoes, houses, paddles, and baskets, and bark for woven goods and rope for thousands of years.