Type of Cedar?

Discussion in 'Plants: Identification' started by coeblackwell, Oct 22, 2005.

  1. coeblackwell

    coeblackwell Member

    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    In addition to a native Western Red Cedar in my new yard, there is this one, which I have not been able to pin down. It has the same color as a Colorado blue spruce, but a cedar/juniper-like growth. I saw one at the Hiram Chittenden locks here in Seattle, but of course it was not labeled!

    This specimen is about 35 feet tall, with a trunk of approx. 18 inches in diameter. There are no visible cones. The leaves are quite prickly. In the wide shot it appears less blue because it is bathed in a lovely morning glow.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. jimmyq

    jimmyq Well-Known Member 10 Years

    Messages:
    2,345
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Metro Vancouver, BC, Canada.
    hard to see detail on the pic but perhaps Taxodium distychum
     
  3. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    11,509
    Likes Received:
    537
    Location:
    Britain zone 8/9
    Not a cedar at all; looks most like a juvenile foliage cultivar of Sawara Cypress, Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Squarrosa'
     
  4. coeblackwell

    coeblackwell Member

    Messages:
    9
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Seattle, WA, USA
    Yes, I believe that's right, Michael F.

    I found a description of the tree at the Oregon State University website. At first I was thrown off by the description of the foliage as "soft" - but on jumping up and pulling off a bit, I discovered the new growth is indeed soft, but as it dries and dies, turns into prickly bits that you don't want to step on barefoot.

    The description says that the dead brown parts on the inside of the tree are "unsightly" , but actually they create a warm shadows in the interior of the tree that nicely offset the silvery blue foliage.

    It does seem to create a significant rain shadow. I am not sure what will grow well underneath it.
     
  5. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

    Messages:
    11,509
    Likes Received:
    537
    Location:
    Britain zone 8/9
    Yes it does get a bit prickly when it is dry!
     
  6. Laurie

    Laurie Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

    Messages:
    428
    Likes Received:
    23
    Location:
    Seattle, WA
    Arthur Lee Jacobson has written a booklet entitled Trees at the Locks, which is available at the Elisabeth C. Miller Library at the Center for Urban Horticulture, online, and at the gift shop at the Locks. The identity of the tree surely can be confirmed by checking this booklet which contains "[a] map and bed-by-bed list of 335 kids of trees and shrubs found at the Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Garden." I would look it up for you, but the booklet is currently on my wishlist. Let us know what it is. For more information see: http://www.arthurleej.com/more-books.html.
     
  7. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

    Messages:
    21,370
    Likes Received:
    834
    Location:
    WA USA (Z8)
    Looks like 'Squarrosa' in the photos. This is a pretty common tree here. But if you got the booklet anyway you could read about other trees in the English Botanical Garden as well.
     

Share This Page