California Incense Cedar
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| Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin |
The California Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) is a species of conifer native to western North America, with the bulk of the range in the United States, from central western Oregon through most of California and the extreme west of Nevada, and also a short distance into northwest Mexico in northern Baja California.
It is a large tree, typically reaching heights of 40-60 m and a trunk diameter of up to 3 m (maxima, 69 m tall and 3.9 m diameter), and with a broad conic crown of spreading branches. The leaves are bright green on both sides of the shoots, and the cones 2-2.5 cm long. It is by far the most widely-known species in the genus, and is often simply called "Incense-cedar" without the regional qualifier. This tree is the preferred host of a wood wasp, Syntexis libocedrii a living fossil which lays its eggs in the smoldering wood immediately after a forest fire.
The wood of C. decurrens is the primary material for wooden pencils, because it is soft and tends to sharpen easily without forming splinters. It is also a popular ornamental tree, grown particularly in cool summer climates (Britain and the Pacific Northwest of North America) for its very narrow columnar crown. This narrow crown is an unexplained consequence of the climatic conditions in these areas, and is not shown by trees in the wild. It is also valued for its drought tolerance.
[edit] Gallery
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 Foliage and male cones |
 California incense cedar in Lassen Volcanic National Park |
