A Tree a Week: Eastern Red Cedar

"In the embrace of the n Red Cedar, find solace in the aromatic whispers of ancient landscapes, where branches cradle stories of time's passage, and resilient needles weave a tapestry of nature's enduring spirit."

- Unknown

Tall Eastern Red Cedars (Juniperus virginiana) line many of the driveways of our campus, towering above passersby as they come and go. A native evergreen conifer known for its aromatic, reddish wood, lacy, prickly foliage, and delightful blue berries, this cold-hardy, adaptable tree grows 40-50 feet tall. Despite its name, the Eastern Red Cedar is not a true cedar, but rather is a type of juniper in the cypress family. It features shreddy bark and offers valuable uses in landscaping, furniture, and crafts due to its distinctive fragrant heartwood. Years ago, the vision of our campus included planting these colonizing trees as they are widely distributed throughout our landscape, serving as a windbreak, wildlife habitat, and important source of food and cover for more than 50 species of birds. Additionally, the Eastern Red Cedar provides shelter for land-dwelling animals (and students on campus) from the rain, as the coverage the foliage creates is very, very dense.

Eastern Red Cedars are dioecious, meaning male and female trees are separate plants, though it is easy to tell the difference between the two. While both bloom in late winter, female Eastern Red Cedars produce green flowers, and the males produce yellow flowers. The female trees bear small (quarter-inch), fleshy, berry-like cones that appear in spring and mature in the fall. The "berries" are a hazy blue with a whitish bloom, giving them a gray-blue appearance, and each berry contains 1 to 4 seeds. Male trees bear brown, pollen-bearing cones on the branch tips, and the wind disperses their pollen. In late summer and fall, many junipers have blue-green berry-like fruits that are actually modified cones, attracting birds from miles away. The blue fruits of the female trees are consumed by a wide variety of wildlife, including the Cedar Waxwing songbird, for which the tree is named. Hoofed browsers, such as our common whitetail deer, often eat the twigs and foliage.

First observed on Roanoke Island, Virginia, in 1564 and described by the early colonists as "the tallest and reddest cedars in the world," the eastern redcedar quickly became prized for building.

The Eastern Red Cedar is famous for its fragrant oil, a natural insect repellent. Because the scent repels moths, the aromatic wood has been used for centuries in the construction of chests, closets, and wardrobes to protect woolen clothing.

The dense branches of the Eastern Red Cedar provide important refuge and shelter for songbirds and gamebirds, such as quails, bobwhites, ruffed grouse, pheasants, and turkeys. Butterflies and small mammals also benefit from the cover this tree provides. 

The soft, silvery bark peels off in long, flexible strips that squirrels and other small mammals use for nest material.