Appearance

• Northern White Cedar is a compact softwood tree with many small flat branches growing thickly together like a bush. Its leaves are scale-like and layered upon one another. Northern White Cedar trees produce small cones, usually measuring less than an inch long.
  
  

Geography

• In the wild, Northern White Cedar trees thrive in humid climates and cool, moist, fertile soil. They commonly grow near streams and in swamps.
  
  

Animal Uses

• White-tailed deer and smaller mammals graze on Northern White Cedars, and birds eat seeds from the cones. Deer also utilize thickets of these trees for winter cover.
  
  

Scent

• Northern White Cedar leaves have a pleasant scent when crushed, and the odor of cedar leaves and wood is a mild insect repellent. Cedar wood is often used in building closets and wooden chests to store valuable or heirloom fabric items.
  
  

Commercial Uses

• Northern White Cedar is commonly used in constructing fencing, logs and lumber, decks, paneling, furniture, shingles and boats.
  
  

Fun Fact

• The Northern White Cedar is also known as Eastern White Cedar, Swamp Cedar and Arborvitae (from Latin for "tree of life").