Cedar (White)

White Cedar usually grows in the East (like Ontario and Québec), whereas Red Cedar grows in the West (like in British Colombia). 

Cedar needs lots of water.  Those Cendars that have been planted in Saskatchewan as ornamentals probably have a difficult time in our dry climate.  As a result, it may suck up all the water from surrounding plants.

Depending on location and variety, different white cedar plants can grow anywhere from 15 to 20 meters tall and can live for hundreds of years. It has adapted to high altitudes, cliff’s edge, and other areas where growth and resources are limited.  White cedar prefers moist soil, like along shores and swamps. ("Canada's Cedars", Canadian Wildlife Federation)

The evergreen plant appears small and shrub-like appearance, have green or blue hughed scaly coniferous leaves. All varieties have a seed cone about 1 centimeter long attached throughout the leaves.

White cedar reproduces in late autumn by spreading cones containing seeds throughout the environment via wind or animals. Young plantlings grow the following spring or summer and true leaves form near the end of summer, fall, or the following year.

In nature white cedars act as a support for their ecosystem, feeding and housing various animals throughout the year. The plant itself produces a natural essential oil insecticide and that proporty has been used to support conventional insecticides. It is also used in scented products such as soaps, disinfectants, and air fresheners.

Traditionally the trees have been used for construction, craftsmanship, and for their medicinal properties. The wood has been used widely for crafting boats, outdoor furniture, and house siding because of it’s rot resistant wood.

The foliage is rich in vitamin C and has been used to treat scurvy, headaches, and constipation. Topically it is used as a treatment for warts, ringworm, and thrush.

Traditionally, some Indigenous communities have used the leaf tea for headaches, colds, and for cough syrup.  The inner bark tea is also used for colds and coughs.  Rheumatism, arthritis, and gout can be treated with a steam bath.  Swollen feet and burns can be treated with a wash. It's been shown in experiments to inhibit cancer cells. A combination of White Cedar, Purple coneflower, and other plants is widely sold commercially to support the immune system.(Foster & Duke, p. 344)

When boiled with other herbs, a drink can be made to treat "twisted face" caused by a stroke (Cree Elder, James Smith 100 Reserve, SK, published in Marles et al., p. 86).  The paralysis of the tongue not treatable by modern medicine can be remedied to the unaffected side of the face to draw it back to normal (Cree Elders, Shoal Lake SK, published in Marles et al., p. 86.