Plant Guide

Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin
incense cedar
CADE27

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Tree
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator

Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	No
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	Yellow
Flower Conspicuous	No
Foliage Color	Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Dense
Foliage Porosity Winter	Dense
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	No
Growth Form	Single Stem
Growth Rate	Slow
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	12
Height, Mature (feet)	150
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	Yes
Lifespan	Long
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation
Resprout Ability	No
Shape and Orientation	Conical
Toxicity	None

Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	Low
Cold Stratification Required	Yes
Drought Tolerance	Medium
Fertility Requirement	Medium
Fire Tolerance	Low
Frost Free Days, Minimum	100
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	4.7
pH, Maximum	7.1
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	300
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	700
Precipitation, Minimum	20
Precipitation, Maximum	80
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	60
Salinity Tolerance	None
Shade Tolerance	Intermediate
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	-33

Reproduction
Bloom Period	Late Spring
Commercial Availability	Routinely Available
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Medium
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Fall
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	No
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	14400
Seed Spread Rate	Slow
Seedling Vigor	Low
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	None

Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product	None
Lumber Product	Yes
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	No
Palatable Browse Animal	Low
Palatable Graze Animal	Low
Palatable Human	No
Post Product	No
Protein Potential
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	Yes

Kingdom Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division Coniferophyta -- Conifers

Class Pinopsida

Order Pinales

Family Cupressaceae -- Cypress family

Genus Calocedrus Kurz -- incense cedar P

Species Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin -- incense cedar P

Alternative Names

California incense cedar, California white cedar, bastard cedar, California calocedar, post cedar, white cedar, red cedar

Uses

Medicinal: A decoction of the leaves was used to treat stomach troubles (Moerman 1998). Steam from an infusion of incense cedar bark was inhaled in the treatment of colds (Ibid.). The bark was used to make baskets and the twigs were used to make brooms.

Economic: Incense cedar has aromatic wood that resists decay and insects. The wood is used as window sashes, sheathing under stucco or brick veneer construction, mudsills, fencing, greenhouse benches, and poles. It is also widely used for interior and exterior siding. The soft and pliable wood makes it one of the few species suitable for making pencils.

Landscaping & Wildlife: Incense cedar is an attractive landscape tree that is excellent for large areas and formal plantings (Dirr 1990). This tree is a splendid park and large home-grounds species in climates suitable for them (Lemmon 1952). It is browsed moderately by mule deer. Small mammals eat the seeds. This species is primarily used by wildlife species for cover.

Agroforestry: Calocedrus decurrens is used in tree strips for windbreaks. It is planted and managed to protect livestock, enhance production, and control soil erosion. Windbreaks can help communities with harsh winter conditions better handle the impact of winter storms and reduce home heating costs during the winter months. Incense cedar is also widely planted in the mountains for erosion control.

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

Description

General: Cypress family Cupressaceae. Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens is a medium sized tree eighty to one hundred twenty feet high (Preston 1989). The leaves are small, scale-like, oblong-ovate, in whorls of four, decurrent, and closely adnate on the branchlets and aromatic when crushed. The flowers are monecious, appearing in January on the ends of short lateral branchlets of the previous year. The fruit is reddish-brown or yellowish-brown that ripens in the early autumn and remains on the tree until spring. The bark is bright cinnamon-red, broken into irregularly ridges, and covered with closely appressed plate-like scales (Sargent 1961).

Distribution: Calocedrus decurrens is native to the mountains from western Oregon in higher Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada to southern California and western Nevada. For current distribution, please consult the Plant profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

Adaptation

Incense cedar prefers moist, well-drained, fertile soil. It grows best in full sun or light shade. This species is not tolerant of smoggy or wind-swept conditions (Dirr 1990). It shows good adaptability to different soil types (Ibid.). This tree is often found in mixed coniferous stands with sugar pine, ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, western white pine, white fir, and Douglas fir (Preston 1989).

Establishment

Propagation for Seed: Sow seeds in the early spring in a greenhouse. Seeds require a stratification period for about eight weeks at 32-40ºF for good germination. When the seedlings are large enough to handle, place them into individual pots to grow in a light shaded area in a greenhouse or cold frame for the first winter. Plant them out in the late spring or early summer.

Management

Incense cedar has aromatic wood that resists insects and decay. Practically no pests attack the tree, but in the forests where it is native, mature tree trunk are often infested with dry rot of the heartwood (Wyman 1965).

In its younger years, especially when growing strongly in the open, incense cedar forms an almost geometrically perfect pyramid, its lower branches nearly touching the ground, and the whole mass so densely overlapping that it sheds both rain and snow (Lemmon 1952). In old age, after battling the elements for perhaps a thousand years, it is far more irregular and picturesque, often with several summits trying to replace the old one destroyed long before lightening or a great wind (Ibid.).

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

References

Britton, N.L. 1908. North American trees. Henry Holt & Company, New York, New York.

Dirr, M.A. 1990. Manual of woody landscape plants: their identification, ornamental characteristics, culture, propagation, and uses. 4^th ed. Stipes Publishing Co., Champaigne, Illinois.

Dirr, M.A. 1997 Dirr’s hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated encyclopedia. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon.

Dirr, M.A. & C.W. Heuser, Jr. 1987. The reference manual of woody plant propagation: from seed to tissue culture. Varsity Press, Athens, Georgia.

Grimm, W.C. 1967. Familiar trees of America. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York, New York.

Lape, F. 1965. A garden of trees and shrubs: practical hints for planning and planting an arboretum. Comstock Publishing Associates, Ithaca, New York.

Moerman, D. 1998. Native American ethnobotany. Timber Press, Oregon.

Oregon State University 2001. Trees of the Pacific Northwest. Corvallis, Oregon. Accessed: 11jan02. <https://www.orst.edu/instruct/for241/con/spp/icdrspp.html>

Pojar, J & A. MacKinnon 1994. Plants of the Pacific Northwest coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alaska. Lone Pine Publishing, Redmond, Washington.

Preston, R.J., Jr. 1948. North American trees. 2^nd ed. The Iowa State College Press, Ames, Iowa.

Preston, R.J., Jr. 1989. North American trees. 4^th ed. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.

Rehder, A. 1990. Manual of cultivated trees and shrubs: hardy in North America. 2^nd ed. Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon.

Sargent, C.S. 1961. Manual of the trees of North America. Vol. 1. Dover Publications, Inc., New York, New York.

Taylor, N. 1965. The guide to garden shrubs and trees. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts

Wyman, D. 1965. Trees for American gardens. The MacMillan Company, New York, New York.

Prepared By:

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Species Coordinator

Lincoln M. Moore

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 09jan02 jsp; 24feb03 ahv; 31may06 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

Attribution: U.S. Department of Agriculture