Synonyms: American Arborvitae.
Northern White Cedar grows predominantly north of Maryland. The discovery of Northern White Cedar growing naturally in Maryland dates to 1983, when three stations, all on limestone cliffs overlooking the Potomac River, near Ferry Hill, in Washington County, were reported by Nature Conservancy botanist Larry Morse in an article in the journal "Castanea." Nearly three decades later, a new station was found, near Big Slackwater Boat Ramp, on the Potomac, several miles upstream from Ferry Hill. Larry concluded that the stands are native, "persisting from late-glacial times in the cool, moist habitat of these steep, northerly-facing cliffs." Before Larry's report, Brown and Brown (1972) mentioned the species but stated that "no natural stands are known in Maryland" (J. Hill/MNPS).
Its flat, smooth, fan-like sprays of leaves distinguish Northern White Cedar from Eastern Red Cedar, which has somewhat prickly juvenile leaves and often occurs along with Northern White Cedar (J. Hill/MNPS). A long-lived tree, widely planted as an ornamental.
There are 44 records in the project database.
| GA | AL | WA | FR | CL | MO | HO | BA | BC | HA | CE | PG | AA | CV | CH | SM | KE | QA | CN | TA | DO | WI | SO | WO |
