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THE GARDEN SAGEA library of living things
Trees & woodland lore · Western North Carolina field companion

Atlantic white cedar

Chamaecyparis thyoides

Seed cones, stem, leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.
Seed cones, stem, leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunJohn B ↗ · CC BY 2.0
Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.

Native conifer for consistently moist acidic soils; not for dry upland beds.

Sun Exposure
Full sun
MATURE HEIGHT (FT)
30–50
MATURE WIDTH (FT)
10–20
BLOOM SEASON
Spring
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Get to know this plant.

Identification clue 1

Small overlapping scale leaves

Identification clue 2

Flattened evergreen sprays

Identification clue 3

Tiny round cones

Read the leaves

Opposite scales overlap along slender flattened branchlets. This is a coastal wetland species, though planted trees occur inland.

More growing details

Read the bark

Reddish-brown fibrous bark develops narrow strips.

Fruit & seed

Small rounded cones distinguish it from arborvitae's more elongated cones.

Winter character

Persistent scales and tiny woody cones help establish the false-cypress group.

Origin & place

Native to Atlantic and Gulf coastal wetlands; a WNC garden specimen should be treated as planted, not evidence of a wild mountain population.

Compare with Arborvitae

Compare cone shape and scale arrangement; common names containing cedar do not establish a genus.

WNC Notes

Native conifer for consistently moist acidic soils; not for dry upland beds.

Sun Exposure

Full sun

MATURE HEIGHT (FT)

30–50

MATURE WIDTH (FT)

10–20

BLOOM SEASON

Spring

BLOOM COLOR

Inconspicuous

FALL / WINTER COLOR

Evergreen

Wet-Soil Tolerance

High

Drought Tolerance

Low

LOOK CLOSELY

Two views, a closer look.

Place two photographs beside one another. Compare the overall plant with leaves, flowers, or bark when those views are available. Captions identify what each photograph actually shows. Images are not at the same scale; species references may show different cultivars.

Seed cones, stem, leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.
Seed cones, stem, leaves. Taxon reference; photograph alone does not establish a named cultivar.☀ Full sunJohn B ↗ · CC BY 2.0
Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; no diagnostic content altered.
Close-up of pale bark with longitudinal ridges & furrows — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.
Close-up of pale bark with longitudinal ridges & furrows — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunJryanddoherty ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.
Seed Cones — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.
Seed Cones — species reference; cultivar identity not inferred.☀ Full sunS. Rae ↗ · CC BY 2.0
Photo contextResized and converted to WebP; full original composition retained.

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