Thuja

Common name: Arborvitae, Thuja
Dutch: Levensboom

Identifying Features

  • Habit: Evergreen trees or shrubs with flattened, fan-like foliage sprays
  • Leaves: Scale-like in opposite pairs, aromatic when crushed
  • Bark: Reddish-brown, fibrous, often spirally furrowed
  • Cones: Small, elongated, with 8-12 thin, overlapping scales
  • Distinguishing: Strongly flattened sprays; distinctive sweet/resinous scent

Species Encountered

SpeciesPhotoDateLocation
T. occidentalis
T. plicata
T. orientalis

Parent: Cupressoideae