Michigan shares many types of conifer trees with the Eastern and Midwestern regions of the United States and Canada. The following photo essay features identification information, photos and interesting facts about two native Cedar trees of Michigan! Identifying traits include, leaves, form, size, habitat, seed cones, pollinator cones or bark.

• For information about the 5 most common Pine trees of Michigan, click HERE.
• For information about the 4 most common Spruce trees of Michigan, click HERE.
• For information about 3 Unique Conifer trees of Michigan, click HERE

Eastern Red Cedar Tree (Juniperus, virginiana)

Habitat and Location

The abundance of this tree has increased markedly due to widespread forest disturbances, and in some cases, elimination by humans of old-growth forests in southern Michigan and many other location. I see them in large numbers along stretches of freeway in southern Michigan and within the sand-dune valleys along the shores of Lake Michigan and also the forested property around my home. Seeds are disseminated widely by birds so these Red Cedars are typically found under large trees in many different forests. The Red Cedar tree is actually a false cedar, but is rather a type of Juniper tree native to Michigan and much of eastern North America. It is a member of the Cypress family and is often referred to as eastern red cedar, red juniper, or Virginian juniper. 

Namesake – The Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is called “Red Cedar” because of its reddish-brown bark, dull red heartwood and pleasant aroma, which reminded early European settlers of the true cedar trees in their homelands. Special Note: This species was also called “baton rouge” or “red stick” by French settlers which the capital city of Louisiana was named after.

• Red Cedar Juniper trees are shade-intolerant, but deer-resistant and drought resistant preferring well-drained, sandy or gravely soils in open areas including old fields and pastures, open hillsides, fence rows, rocky slopes, sand dunes or borders of lakes, streams and swamps.

Eastern Red Cedar Size and Shape

• The Eastern Red Cedar tree is a very slow growing, long-lived, small to medium-sized tree measuring 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 meters) tall with an 8 to 20 foot (2.5 to 6 meter) spread, depending on location. Michigan Big Tree: 50 feet(15 meters) tall, Grand Traverse County.
• Forms vary from pyramidal, columnar or pear-shaped crown and are densely foliated. The trunk tapers and is irregular (not perfectly round) in cross section, often with two or more secondary trunks. Older trees may shed lower branches.

Eastern Red Cedar Tree Foliage – The Eastern Red Cedar trees possess two types of foliage. The younger foliage near tips of branches is needle-like and prickly. The adult foliage is scale-like and hugs tight to the stem which serves to reduce water loss and allows the tree to thrive in harsh, dry, or sun-exposed conditions.

Red Cedar leaves (scales) measure about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (.6 to 1.3mm) long; are rounded, covered by closely overlapping, dark green, scales in alternate pairs, sort of like the braiding of hair.

The Red Cedar foliage changes color, typically turning from green to shades of bronze, purple, or reddish-brown during winter. This color shift acts as a natural, protective “sunscreen” against low temperatures, caused by the production of a pigment called rhodoxanthin.

Eastern Red Cedar Tree Seed Cones

Eastern Red Cedar tree female seed cones are tiny and round, less than .5 inches in diameter, are somewhat fleshy; are green at first, turning blue at maturity looking more like little blueberries. Interesting fact; the fleshy cones of junipers are used in preparation of gin to give it a distinctive flavor.

Red Cedar male pollen cones appear in spring, are tiny, colored brown with pollen scales containing yellow pollen sacs. Each Eastern Red Cedar tree is either male or female (diocecious), unlike most conifers which have both male and female pollinators on the same tree (monoecious),

Red Cedar bark is reddish-brown to ash-gray in older trees; is fibrous exhibiting long, narrow fringed strips which easily peel; trunk is not perfectly round on older trees. The wood of the Eastern Red Cedar is well known as very aromatic and highly resistant to rot making it ideal for fence posts, cedar chests, pencils, veneers and furniture making. The inner wood color is redder than the Northern White Cedar.

“Tree of Life”: Many Pacific Northwest Indigenous groups view the Western Red Cedar tree as a sacred, generous entity, using it for shelter, clothing, and medicine. The Cherokee believed the creator placed spirits of ancestors in red cedars, and they carried the wood for protection. 

Northern White Cedar Tree “Arborvitae” (Thuja occidentalis)

The Northern White Cedar tree is actually a false cedar belonging to the Cypress family as with the Eastern Red Cedar tree. It has become one of the most popular “arborvitae” landscaping plants with over a hundred various cultivars; is often used for screens and hedges. It is the most important winter food for deer providing shelter in swamp stands as well. Landscapers need to protect this tree during winter months.

Location and Habitat

The native Northern White Cedar tree is often found in pure stands that were established following fire; it is abundant on sites with calcareous soils and high water tables and also the gravelly shores, dunes and ridges of Lakes Michigan and Huron; is not found in upland areas with deep, acid soils. The White Cedar prefers characteristic cold, poorly drained swamps with moving water, forming nearly impenetrable, pure stands in such swamps. Also occurs on upland sites of dry, calcareous soils often over limestone bedrock; is somewhat shade tolerant.

Northern White Cedar Tree/Arborvitae Tree Size and Shape

• The White Cedar or Arborvitae is a small to medium-sized tree measuring from 30 to 50 feet (10 to 15 meters) tall with a 10 to 15 foot (3 to 4.5 meter) spread.
• The Northern White Cedar tree is a slow growing and relatively long-lived tree. Open-grown trees exhibit a dense, wide-based, columnar crown reaching the ground. Only older trees will shed lower branches. The trunk is much tapered, sometimes twisted or leaning, often divided into 2-3 secondary stems. Michigan Big Tree reaches height of 111 feet (34 meters), Leelanau County.

The Northern White Cedar shows two types of scale-like leaves; one being more narrow than the other as seen in illustration above. Color is typically blue-green to yellowish green, often becoming brown at the tips in winter; leaves are strongly aromatic when crushed.

White Cedar female seed cones are small measuring about 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) long. They are composed of 7 to 12 scales, colored pale brown, shaped oval-oblong and have a short-stalk. They ripen in early autumn of the first season, persisting on the branch throughout the winter.

Northern White Cedar “Arborvitae” tree is monoecious containing both male and female cones; female seed cones are wind or animal pollinated by the male pollen cones, as with most conifers. The male pollen cones develop in fall and expand during April and May realeasing pollen to the female seed cones and later wither away. The male pollen cones are barely visible at the ends of new shoots; are round and yellowish with scales.

White Cedar bark is thin, light reddish brown to grayish on older trees; breaks into long, thin strips with connecting shredded ridges on older trees. The inner wood is whiter than the Eastern Red Cedar, but both are aromatic and resistant to rot; the wood is used in construction such as fencing, poles or furniture making.

The “Tree of Life”: Native American tribes, including the Haudenosaunee, Algonquin, and Ojibwe, revered the tree. The name “Arborvitae” was given in the 16th century after Native populations taught French explorer Jacques Cartier to use the foliage as a tea, rich in Vitamin C, to cure his crew of scurvy.

These Native American tribes considered the White Cedar tree sacred, and often associated it with prayer, healing, and protection. 

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