North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Chamaecyparis thyoides

Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.

atlantic white cedar, juniper

Synonym(s): Chamaecyparis henryae, Chamaecyparis thyoides var. henryae, Cupressus thyoides, Cupressus thyoides ssp. henryae
Cultivar(s): Emily, Webb #1

Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic White Cedar)

Image ID: 13561
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: CHTH2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chamaecyparis thyoides
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-03-29

CULTIVAR INDEX

Cult_id	Cultivar_name	Action
203	Emily	View
291	Webb #1	View

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: CHAMA4
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Chamaecyparis
GENUS AUTHORITY: Spach
GENUS COMMON: Cedar
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of about 6 species, trees, of warm temperate to cool temperate North America and Asia. The genus consists of 5 species – ours, 1 in w. North America, and 3 in Japan & Taiwan.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Mylecraine et al. (2005, 2006, 2009)=X; Michener in FNA (1993b); Farjon (2005)=Y; Farjon (1998)=Z; Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: CUPRES
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Cupressaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: Bartlett 1830
FAMILY COMMON: Cypress Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 29 genera and about 130 species. Recent studies indicate that the separation of the Taxodiaceae from the Cupressaceae is not warranted, and they are here combined (Gadek et al. 2000; Brunsfeld et al. 1994). The subfamilial classification used here follows Gadek et al. (2000).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Farjon (2005); Hart & Price (1990); Hardin (1971b); Watson & Eckenwalder in FNA (1993b); Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: up to 50 ft.

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Tree

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY: Simple
LEAF RETENTION: Evergreen

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Mar-Apr

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
		x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
					x

FRUITING PERIOD: Oct-Nov.

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE: Bogs/pocosins
NATIVE RANGE: eastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: Native to wet areas from Maine to Florida, this evergreen tree grows into a slender columnar form. Its needlelike green foliage is often tinged with bronze in winter. It provides excellent screening if grown in full sun. Atlantic White-cedar is easy to grow and adaptable to garden situations. This southeastern native species has no serious disease or insect problems. Its wood is very strong, lightweight and rot-resistant, thus it has often been used for fence posts, boat building and similar uses. The NCBG Education Center actually is sided in Atlantic White-cedar!

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Average, Moist/Wet
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Sun, Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 4
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE: 9
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE:
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
625	SOS	2015-11-11	Faucette	View
760	SOS	2016-09-29	Faucette	View
1459	HORT			View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
1908	1986-1693			View
2165	1986-1973			View
2503	1986-2362			View
7183	1999-0144	1999-11-08		View
8103	2004-0111	1899-11-30	0	View
9146	2007-0168	2007-07-17	1459	View
9694	2024-0001			View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
3019	1908	6	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3020	1908	134	NCBG staff	1986-01-01	View
3021	1908	71	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
3022	1908	62	NCBG staff	1986-12-22	View
3733	2165	56	NCBG staff	1986-12-23	View
3734	2165	59	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
3735	2165	53	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
4261	2503	140	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
10129	7183	158	NCBG staff	1999-11-01	View
10130	7183	52	NCBG staff	1967-12-31	View
12106	9146	59	NCBG staff	0000-00-00	View
14049	8103	32	Wait	0000-00-00	View
14261	9694	62	Liloia	0000-00-00	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: CHTH2
USDA Common Name: Atlantic White Cedar
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, MA, MD, ME, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Tree

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	OBL				OBL				OBL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chamaecyparis thyoides var. thyoides
COMMON NAME: Atlantic White Cedar, Juniper
SYNONYMY: [= X, Y, Z; < C. thyoides - C, F, FNA, G, K, Pa, RAB, S, Va, WH3]
PHENOLOGY: Mar-Apr; Oct-Nov.
HABITAT: Peat dome and streamhead pocosins, blackwater stream swamps, hillside seepages, in highly acidic, peaty or sandy soils.
COMMENTS: S. ME south to n. FL and west to s. MS. From NJ south it is strictly a tree of the Coastal Plain; northward it is often found in kettle-hole bogs. In SC and GA, C. thyoides is absent in the outer Coastal Plain, occurring primarily in the fall-line Sandhills. A prized timber tree, now much reduced in abundance, formerly used for cabinetry, boat-building, shingles, and other uses. The wood is valuable enough (and resistant enough to rot) to have been mined from bogs in NJ. NC has some of the largest remaining stands of Atlantic White Cedar, in areas of very difficult access, such as the interiors of major peat-domes and large peat-filled Carolina bays. The species is generally known as juniper in our area.
RANGE MAP: Chamaecyparis thyoides var. thyoides.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Cupressaceae Bartlett 1830 (Cypress Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 29 genera and about 130 species. Recent studies indicate that the separation of the Taxodiaceae from the Cupressaceae is not warranted, and they are here combined (Gadek et al. 2000; Brunsfeld et al. 1994). The subfamilial classification used here follows Gadek et al. (2000).
REFERENCE: Farjon (2005); Hart & Price (1990); Hardin (1971b); Watson & Eckenwalder in FNA (1993b); Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Chamaecyparis Spach (Cedar)
SUMMARY: A genus of about 6 species, trees, of warm temperate to cool temperate North America and Asia. The genus consists of 5 species – ours, 1 in w. North America, and 3 in Japan & Taiwan.
REFERENCE: Mylecraine et al. (2005, 2006, 2009)=X; Michener in FNA (1993b); Farjon (2005)=Y; Farjon (1998)=Z; Page in Kramer & Green (1990).

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Chamaecyparis thyoides in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Chamaecyparis thyoides in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Chamaecyparis thyoides in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Chamaecyparis thyoides in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Chamaecyparis thyoides in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Chamaecyparis thyoides

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 13561 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 13561 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 13563 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 13562 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)