There is a large specimen of the western red cedar found just outside the Aviary Cafe in the Jephson Gardens. Years of climbing and sitting on the lower branches by children of all ages, has meant that the bottom branches are bare and worn to a shine in places! On warm days it is supposed to smell of balsam and turpentine. It has small oval cones that sit above the branches in the top of the tree; it’s bark is fibrous and longitudinally fissured; the leaves have white markings on the undersides of flat foliage sprays
Its an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family and is native to western north America and can live for over 1,000 years. Two of the largest living specimens are the Cheewhat Giant, on Vancouver Island at 15,870 cubic feet (449 m3) and the Willaby Creek Tree south of Lake Quinault, 195 feet (59 m) in height.
Historically it has been used extensively in native American cultures and is the emblem for British Columbia. It’s bark and roots were used for domestic items such as ropes, masks, utensils, boxes, boards, instruments, canoes, vessels, houses, ceremonial objects, blankets and even clothing; while the wood was used in the curing and cooking of fish. Today it is much sought after as one of the strongest timbers and it contains a natural fungicide.
