The Trees of Vermont 51 



PINACEAE 



Arbor Vitae. Wliite Cedar 

 Thuja occldentalls L. 



Habit. — A tree 40-50 feet high, with a short, often buttressed 

 trunk 1-2 feet in diameter, often divided into 2-3 secondary stems ; 

 forming a rather dense, wide-based, pyramidal crown. 



Leaves. — Opposite, 4-ranked, scale-Hke, appressed ; ovate, obtuse 

 or pointed, keeled in the side pairs, flat in the others; ys-}i inch long; 

 yellow-green, often becoming brown in winter ; strongly aromatic when 

 crushed. Persistent 1-2 years. 



Flowers. — April-May ; usually monoecious ; the staminate minute, 

 globose, yellow, composed of 4-6 stamens arranged oppositely on a 

 short axis ; the pistillate small, oblong, reddish, composed of 8-12 scales 

 arranged oppositely on a short axis. 



Fruit.— Early autumn of first season, but persistent on the branch 

 through the winter ; erect, short-stalked, oblong-ovoid, pale brown 

 cones, about 3^ inch long, composed of 8-12 loose scales ; seeds j4 inch 

 long, ovate, acute, winged. 



Winter-buds. — Naked, minute. 



Bark. — Twigs, yellow-green, becoming light red, finally smooth, 

 lustrous, dark orange-brown ; thin, light red-brown on the trunk, 

 slightly furrowed or deciduous in ragged strips. 



Wood. — Light, soft, brittle, rather coarse-grained, durable, fra- 

 grant, pale yellow-brown, with thin, whitish sapwood. Page 221. 



Distribution. — Common in northern and central Vermont, and 

 as far south as Woodstock and Hartland in eastern Vermont, up to 

 1,000 feet altitude. 



Habitat. — Swamps and along river-banks ; rocky slopes ; cool, 

 moist hillsides. 



Notes. — This tree is known popularly in Vermont as the white 

 cedar and is recognized easily by its striking pyramidal habit of growth 

 and, upon closer examination, by its small scale-like leaves, in four 

 rows but so flattened on the branchlets as to form fan-like sprays. 



The straight slender trunks of this species are of especial value for 

 posts and telegraph poles. Few timbers better withstand decay in the 

 soil, fence posts sometimes lasting thirty or forty years. It is planted 

 commonly for hedges and other ornamental purposes. 



