Western Red Cedar

The Western Red Cedar is in a class of its own. I love these stately trees with their distinctive bright green foliage of flat needles and long-ridged reddish bark. Here are a few shots of this gorgeous tree still from the original walk I took (yesterday by now).

In googling Western Red Cedar I discovered a number of interesting facts:

-the Western Red Cedar is British Columbia's official tree
-the Western Red Cedar can be referred to as 'arbor-vitae' or "tree of life"
-the Western Red Cedar grows up to 60 metres tall
-the Western Red Cedar has only small egg-shaped seed cones 1 cm long with several pairs of scales
as well as small reddish pollen cones
-the Western Red Cedar's needles or leaves lie in pairs overlapping like shingles with a strong aroma
-the Western Red Cedar is resistant to decay and insect damage, its wood can remain sound for over 100 years
-the Western Red Cedar was used for canoes -"dugouts"
- Coastal First People dug out an entire tree for a canoe or totem pole

This little seedling looks like a small branch near the base of the Cedar but it is an entire new plant taking root. Probably a tiny seed found just the right protection and nourishment in this tiny recess, took root and is now on its way. When a cedar falls in the forest it provides vital shelter, protection and nourishment for ground animals. It becomes a "nursery tree" with new seedlings sprouting along its degenerating trunk and feeding on its decomposing wood. These "nursery trees" can be found on a short hike into the forest around Cultus Lake. This I discovered from a forest ranger on a field trip to this area with my class. Nature is the great recycler.