Yellow cedar is one of the world’s most durable woods. It resists corrosion and offers natural resilience making it is ideal for industrial uses and is used extensively for boat building, sauna manufacturing, fine cabinetry and interior and exterior millwork.
Yellow cedar grows on B.C.’s coast. It is a beautiful tree that is tough, solid and extremely durable. Its wood is valuable commercially because of its straight grain, yellow colour and resistance to decay.
Where it grows
Yellow cedar grows on B.C.’s coast west of the Coast Range in uneven-aged, mixed-species stands, usually as single trees or in small clumps. It is common in old-growth stands at low elevations, especially in the mid or north coast regions, and it grows with western red cedar, western hemlock and plants such as salal and deer fern. At higher elevations, it is found with mountain hemlock and amabilis fir. Yellow cedar often reaches 1,000 years of age, and some may be as old as 2,000 years.
Did you know?
Yellow cedar is one of the slowest growing conifers, with closely packed growth rings and little distinction between earlywood and latewood rings. This makes for a dense, consistent colour and high degree of stability.
Learn about B.C.’s forest practices
B.C.’s diverse forest landscapes, and their proximity to communities, require forest management practices that uphold environmental, social and good governance principles. Forestry practices and industry – British Columbia, Canada explores how B.C. is managing its forests to meet and exceed international standards.
Yellow cedar is a medium-sized tree that grows up to 24 metres tall and 90 centimetres in diameter, often living to be 1000 years old. It has a broad, grooved trunk that spreads out widely at the base. The crown is sharply cone-shaped. The branches spread out and droop and have small loosely hanging branchlets. On young trees, the bark is thin, greyish-brown and scaly. On mature trees, it has narrow intersecting ridges. The inside of the bark smells like potato skins.
Leaves are scale-like, dark bluish-green and slender with sharp points. Unlike western red cedar, yellow cedar leaves are all alike, so the leaf-covered twigs appear four-sided rather than flat. Cones are round and 6 to 12 millimetres in diameter. They are berry-like in the first year and become woody as they mature. Mature cones have 4 to 6 thick umbrella-shaped scales.
Did you know?
The wood of yellow cedar has natural extractives that make it decay-resistant and aromatic when cut. It is free from pitch and resin.
