How do you recognise Western red cedar (Thuja plicata)?

Leaf

Robert Flogaus-Faust, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Western red cedar

Thuja plicata Donn ex D.Don

Also known as: Giant arborvitae, Giant thuja, Pacific red cedar

Family: Cupressaceae

15 to 30 m as a free-standing tree (often clipped to 2-4 m as a hedge)

Tall, dense screening hedges, moist soil

Flowering: March – April (cone production, no ornamental interest)

Full sun

Part shade

Hardy to about -25°C

❓ How do you recognise this plant?

Its foliage gives off a characteristic pineapple smell when crushed, a simple clue to tell it from Eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis), which has a sharper smell. Eastern white cedar has duller green foliage, without the white butterfly-shaped marks on the underside, and a smell closer to crushed apple, whereas Western red cedar has bright green foliage marked with white patterns beneath and a pineapple smell when crushed.

🍃 Leaves

Evergreen, flattened scales arranged in a fan, glossy dark green, giving off a pineapple smell when crushed

🌸 Flowers

Tiny male and female cones, with no ornamental interest

🍎 Fruits

Small brown ovoid cones about 1 cm long

🪵 Bark

Reddish-brown, peeling in fibrous strips

🗺️ Distribution

Native to the Pacific coast of North America

🐝 Value for pollinators

Wind-pollinated, of no interest to pollinators

✂️ Horticultural uses

One of the most widely planted conifer hedges in France for a tall, dense, fast-growing screen

⚠️ Possible toxicity

Foliage slightly toxic if eaten in large amounts

⚠️ Look-alike species

Western red cedar

Thuja plicata

Eastern white cedar

Thuja occidentalis

Eastern white cedar has duller green foliage, without the white butterfly-shaped marks on the underside, and a smell closer to crushed apple, whereas Western red cedar has bright green foliage marked with white patterns beneath and a pineapple smell when crushed.

Western red cedar

Thuja plicata

Chinese arborvitae

Platycladus orientalis

Chinese arborvitae has twigs arranged vertically in upright fans, not flattened horizontally like the true thujas, and a resinous smell when crushed, whereas Western red cedar has foliage flattened horizontally, often marked with white beneath, and a pineapple smell.

🌿 Other Cupressaceae to discover

Italian cypress

Cupressus sempervirens

Giant sequoia

Sequoiadendron giganteum

Dawn redwood

Metasequoia glyptostroboides

Japanese cedar

Cryptomeria japonica

ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.

🌱 This database is constantly evolving — species and information are added and corrected regularly. Spotted a mistake? Report it below.