Arborvitae are evergreen trees or shrubs with scaly bark and short-spreading or ascending branches. Branchlets are flattened with scalelike leaves that are four-ranked. Flowers are monoecious and have male and female flowers in separate clusters on the same tree. Fruit is a small cone with few scales.
Thuja occidentalis–Eastern Arborvitae
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| Eastern Arborvitae | ||
Eastern Arborvitae–Thuja occidentalis
The native arborvitae, also called white-cedar, is a pyramidal tree reaching 50 feet. The arborvitae is found from southern Labrador, Canada, west to Manitoba, Canada, and Minnesota, and south to North Carolina. In Ohio, this tree occurs locally in Adams, Green, and Champaign counties. It is more commonly found in the northern half of the state. The name arborvitae is French for tree of life.
The leaves are scalelike and 1/8 inch (3 mm) long. Scales closely overlap each another. Foliage is aromatic when crushed and marked with glandular dots. Leaves are arranged in pairs with each succeeding pair alternating with the next pair and forming four rows. Leaves are usually dark or bright green above and lighter or bluish-green below. Leaves are heavier or bolder than those of T. orientalis and are usually glandular. The cones are oblong and 1/2 inch (13 mm) long with six to 12 blunt-pointed, reddish-brown scales.
The trunk usually divides near the base. The bark is gray to reddish-brown and usually furrowed. Bark peels off into thin, shred-like strips.
It has been extensively planted for ornamental and windbreak purposes, particularly on lawns and in cemeteries. In nature, the tree is likely found in moist areas, floodplains, or on rocky outcrops where competition from other trees is reduced. Few other conifers tolerate moist shade. More than 50 cultivars are known. Among the most common forms are the pyramidal and the globose types. Standard and dwarf forms are available, as are color variants such as the golden-foliaged forms.