Eastern or American Arborvitae, Eastern White-cedar                 THEW-ya ok-si-den-TA-lis

• Conifer, evergreen tree/shrub, to 40 ft (12 m) high, broad pyramidal, branches erect and out spreading, densely crowded.  Bark reddish brown, fissured into narrow ridges covered with elogated scales.  Leaves in flattened branchlets, each scale-like, 2 mm long, abruptly pointed, those on the main axes conspicuously glandular, bright green above and pale green below, may become yellow-brown in winter.  Male catkins globose with 3 pairs of stamens.  Cones oblong, 8 mm long, light brown.
• Sun.  Prefers a deep, well-drained soil.  When established it can withstand considerable heat and drought. Often used for hedges.   Susceptible to winter burn.  Some cultivars, such as 'Smaragd' (syn. 'Emerald' or 'Emerald Smaragd'), 'Nigra', and 'Tecny' do not discolor in winter.
• Native to USDA Zone (2)3     The species is native from eastern to cental North America; from Nova Scotia east to Manitoba and south to Illinois, Tennessee and North Carolina.
• Many cultivars:
  • Some are narrow, columnar or cone-shaped (e.g., 'Brandon', 'Degroot's Spire', 'Smaragd', 'Nigra', and 'Pyramidalis').  A narrow pyramidal form tends to come true from seed, but seedlings are not necessarily uniform in cultivation.
  • Some cultivars have a dwarf, compact, and/or globular habit (e.g., 'Danica', 'Globosa', 'Little Gem', 'Sherwood Moss', 'Tiny Tim', and 'Woodwardii').
  • Others cultivars have golden or variegated foliage (e.g., 'George Washington', 'Gold Spot', 'Golden Globe', 'Rheingold', 'Sherwood Frost', 'Sunkist', and 'Yellow Ribbon').
  • One has a weeping habit ('Pendula').
  • Another has tread-like branchlets ('Filiformis').
• Occasionally used in bonsai.
• occidentalis: the western world (as opposed to orientalis, eastern, i.e., the Orient).
• Oregon State Univ. campus: northwest Market Place West (West International Hall)..