PORT ORFORD CEDAR 



(Chamcecyparis Laiasoniana) 



PORT Orford cedar of the northwestern coast is an interesting 

 member of the cedar group with a very limited range. Specimens 

 are found throughout an area of about 10,000 square miles, but the dis- 

 trict moderately heavily timbered does not exceed 300 or 400 miles in 

 area. It lies near Coos bay in southwestern Oregon. The tree is found 

 as far south in California as the mouth of Klamath river, and it was once 

 reported on Mt. Shasta, but it is very scarce there if it exists at all. 

 In the best of its range Port Orford cedar runs 20,000 feet to the acre, 

 and a single acre has yielded 100,000 feet. Trees run from 135 to 175 

 feet in height and three to seven in diameter. The largest on record 

 were about 200 feet high and twelve in diameter. Few trees of any species 

 have smaller leaves. They often are only one-sixteenth of an inch in 

 length. They die the third year and change to a bright brown. The 

 cones are about one-third of an inch in diameter. Two or four seeds lie 

 under each fertile cone scale, and ripen in September and October. The 

 seeds are one-eighth inch in length, and are winged for flight. The bark 

 of the tree is much thicker than of most cedars, being ten inches near the 

 base of large trees. This ought to protect the trunks against fire but it 

 falls short of expectations. About sixty years ago much of the finest 

 timber was killed by a great fire which swept the region. Some of the 

 dead trunks stood forty years without exhibiting much evidence of 

 decay, and those that fell remained sound many years. 



The whole history of this interesting tree, from its first announced 

 discovery by white men until the present time, is embraced in the 

 memory of living men. It had not been heard of prior to 1855. Though 

 fire and storm have destroyed large quantities, it has been estimated that 

 4,000,000,000 feet of merchantable timber remain, an average of 15,000 

 feet per acre for an area of 400 square miles. The wood is moderately 

 light, is nearly as strong as white oak, and falls only sixteen per cent 

 below it in stiffness. The annual rings are generally narrow, but distinct. 

 The summerwood is narrow, but dark in color in the heartwood. The 

 medullary rays are numerous and obscure. The wood abounds in 

 odorous resin. The odor persists long after the wood has ceased to be 

 fresh. Workmen in mills where this cedar is cut, and on board of vessels 

 freighted with it, are sometimes seriously affected by the odor. It is 

 reputed to repel insects, and is made into clothes chests, wardrobes, and 

 shelves, with the expectation that moths will be kept at a distance. 

 Several other cedars bear similar reputations. 



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