Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Cupressales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Thuja occidentalis
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Thuja from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Thuja occidentalis
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Thuja occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Thuja occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2 (1993)
Thuja occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 018-02-001:
Thuja occidentalis FAMILY Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Thuja occidentalis
COMMON NAME:
American Arborvitae, Northern White Cedar, Flat Cedar, Eastern Arborvitae
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p17
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_100a
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_thoc2_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_thoc2_010_lhd
)
JK Marlow jkm070629_002
June Spartanburg County SC
Hatcher Garden
Branchlets flattened in horizontal planes [T. orientalis's are vertical], per Weakley's Flora (2015).
COMPARE
conifers (not including Pines)
)
JK Marlow jkm120830_299
August Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm120830_299b
August Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
The small branchlets look as if they had been ironed or pressed, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm120830_299c
August Henderson County NC
Holmes Educational Forest
Leaves opposite, scale-like, in pairs (the side pairs keeled, others flat), per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_occidentalis_78573
August Quebec, Canada
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_occidentalis_78577
August Quebec, Canada
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_occidentalis_78578
August Quebec, Canada
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_occidentalis_78583
August Quebec, Canada
)
JK Marlow jkm090924_190
September Hancock County ME
Acadia National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm090924_198
September Hancock County ME
Acadia National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm090924_204
September Hancock County ME
Acadia National Park
Mature seed cones ~ 1/2" long, oblong, erect, initially yellowish-brown, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Thuja occidentalis
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Thuja occidentalis
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Thuja occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Thuja occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2
Thuja occidentalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 018-02-001:
Thuja occidentalis
FAMILY
Cupressaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Thuja occidentalis
1510
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Dry limestone, dolostone, and calcareous sandstone cliffs, talus, and boulderfields, rarely in our area in calcareous swamps, also planted and persisting around old homesites and cemeteries (mainly in the Mountains), per Weakley's Flora
Native north of the Carolinas & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Opposite
"FLOWER":
Spring
Unisexual
Flowers solitary, terminal
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p388
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p242
- Native Alternatives to Invasive Plants p122
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p126
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p041
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p03
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p349
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".