Perkins Cedar Grove at Morris Creek

There is a magnificent grove of Western Red Cedar trees located near the Idaho town of Elk River and about eight miles from the "Giant Cedar" that I mentioned in my last post. As the sign below explains this grove is a "'climax community" where one tree species has come to dominate a local habitat. In this case it is the Western Red Cedars that have come out as the dominant species. There are several other small tree species that peacefully coexist with the cedars though. These are the Pacific yew and the Sitka alder.
To locate this Cedar grove go to the town of Elk River and visit the Elk River Lodge where they will gladly give you a small map with instructions on how to find the Giant Cedar and the Morris Creek grove.
One of the exciting things about this particular Cedar grove is that there is no evidence of it ever having been logged. Logged Western Red Cedar stumps can last for a very long time but in this location the only stumps I found were from trees that had broken off in storms. I also found some evidence of fire but the great trees seemed to have survived just fine.
The largest trees in the grove appear to be about 8 feet across at breast height. We saw at least a dozen of these as well as many more that were 5-7 feet in diameter.

Giant Cedar near Elk River Idaho

Near the small town of Elk River, Idaho is the largest tree in North America east of the Cascade -Sierra Crest. The tree is a Western Red Cedar that is 18 feet in diameter at breast hight and 177 feet tall. The sign near the tree identifies it as the "Giant Cedar" but I have also seen it called the "King Cedar". This tree is estimated to be about 3000 years old.
Part of the reason for this trees great size is the fact that it has a small stream that literally flows right under it. The ground around the tree is rather boggy which is probably why a deck like platform has been built leading up to and around the tree. The platform is several feet off the ground. One of the interesting things about this tree is that it has wheelchair access. The trail from the parking area is paved right up to where the platform starts.
The trail that leads to the Giant Cedar takes you by a number of other very large Western Red Cedar trees that from a small grove of surviving giants. There are a good dozen trees that range in girth from 4 to 8 feet. Laying right next to the Giant Cedar is a large nurse log of a tree that must have been similar in size to the Giant. There is a small new cedar tree growing right up out of the side of the nurse log.
Looking up into the branches of th Giant Cedar is an interesting view as can be seen in the image below. There are a lot of dead branches on the tree but it is still very much alive.
The image below help to show the immense size of this tree at its base. Remember that the platform is about 2 feet off the ground.
This tree is a bit difficult to find. We were aided by the kind folks at the Elk River Lodge in Elk River who gave us a small map with instructions on how to find the tree. The distance from Elk River to the Giant Cedar is about 10-11 miles on a well kept forest service road. There is also some great camping sites along the road that takes you up to the King Cedar.

Also nearby is the Perkins Cedar Grove at Morris Creek.

Check out the BIG STUMP of another giant Cedar tree of years gone by.

Port Orford Cedar - Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

The Port Orford "Cedar" tree (species - Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) is a coniferous evergreen tree native to Northern California and Southern Oregon. In the picture above it is the cypress looking tree in the center. Other common names for this tree include Lawson cypress, Oregon Cedar, White Cedar and Ginger Pine. This tree is not realy a true cedar but rather belongs to one of the species families that are called by the name Cypress.
The image above is of the female "flower" or cone of the Port Orford Cedar and the image below is the male flower.
You can see from the image below that the male and female flowers grow on the same branch but are on distinct branchlets. The leaves are scale like.
The seeds (in my hand at the top of the image below) are small and have a sort of "flying saurcer" shape.

"Today nearly all harvested Port-Orford-cedar is exported to Japan. Port-Orford-cedar is very similar to hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) wood, which is used in traditional Japanese house and temple construction. On federal timber sales, Japanese trading companies sometimes purchase stumpage on bid after examining individual trees. The wood is regarded so highly as a hinoki substitute that trees are felled with great care; sometimes cables are used to control the fall." from http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/chalaw/all.html

"The wood is light and durable, and particularly highly valued in east Asia, with large amounts being exported to Japan where it is in high demand for making coffins. Due to the straightness of its grain, it is also one of the preferred woods for the manufacture of arrow shafts". - The Rampant Gardener

Himalayan Cedar tree - Cedrus deodara

I found this Himalayan Cedar tree (Cedrus deodara) this morning in the "El Retiro" park of Madrid, Spain. The Retiro park is similar to the "Central Park" of New York City and is a paradise for arbourist and tree lovers. The Spanish name "Retiro" means retreat, so named because it is where many of Madrid´s local residents go to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. This morning was no exception, the park was full of people doing all sorts of activities as well as just relaxing.

The Himalayan Cedar is one of the true cedars and is a close relative to the Cedar of Lebanon and the Atlas Cedar. It can be distinguished from these other two by the length of its leaves (up to 2 inches long) and by the number of leaves on reach "rosette" (12-15).
Another distinguishing feature of the Himalayan Cedar is that the new branches tend to hang down in a sort of "weeping tree" manner. In the images below you can see the new leaves that are growing at the center of each rosette.

This particular cedar is quite big, with the trunk measuring about 3-4 feet in diameter at the base. I estimate the hight at about 100 feet. In the top image above you can see the distinct shape of these cedars.
The image below is not too clear but does show the bark pattern of this tree species.

The cones of this tree are very similar to those of the Cedar of Lebanon
The image below is of another tree I found in the Retiro park that was even taller than the one above.

Atlas Cedar - Cedrus atlantica

A few weeks ago I was able to visit Stanley Park in Vancouver BC. While walking around the park I came across a large Atlas Cedar tree (above). A small label on the tree identified the species as "Cedrus atlantica". Some sources however classify this tree as a subspecies of the Cedar of Lebanon "Cedrus Libani var. atlantica".

The image above illustrates how the short needles of the Atlas Cedar grow on small "rosettes" (small clusters of needles on the end of a short stem). It is very difficult to distinguish between this tree and its close cousin the Lebanese Cedar due to the fact that they have approximately the same number of needles per rosette and and the needles are the same length. The needle length is about 3/4 of an inch (2cm) with about 30 needles per rosette.

The seed cones of the Atlas Cedar stand upright on the branches much like fir cones. They are about 3-3.5 inches tall and 2-2.5 inches wide.

One curious thing about these cones is their habit of breaking off at the top when they start to disintegrate. It is quite common to find the tops of the cones are the ground that look like little dried roses.
The pollen cones are smaller with a shape quite similar to other evergreen trees.

Huge Cedar Stump near I-5 north of Seattle Washington

The following text is from the sign near this big Cedar stump…

Big Cedar Stump

This famous stump remains as evidence of the giant trees which once forested this aea. Over 20 feet in diameter and 200 feet tall, the huge “Western Redcedar” is believed to have been more than 1000 years old. Discovered by early settlers of the area, the following is a resume of its recorded history:

1893 – the stump was killed by a fire which started in its hollow base.

1916 – After the top was removed, Paul Wangsmo and Ole Rodway cut and chopped three spines from the core and cut archways through the stump.

1922 – After cutting the stump off at its base, Ole Reinseth and Slim Husby used horse teams to drag it north 150 yards where it was set on a concrete base.

1939 – the stump, by now cracked, was taken apart and pieced back together just north of portage creek, alongside the newly completed U.S. 99. One May 27, crown prince Olav and princess Martha of Norway drove through the stump.

1971 – The stump´s final move braught it here.

Western Redcedar - Thuja plicata

The Western Red cedar tree is what most people (at least in the Northwestern United States) refer to when they use the term "cedar". It is commonly used for fences and exterior siding because it can get wet without rotting.
It leaves and wood have a fairly strong and distinct aroma. This may be the source of the name "cedar" as this aroma is similar to the aroma of the true cedars (ie. Cedar of Lebanon).
I took the images in this post while on a recent trip to Washington state and Vancouver BC. The images above are from Berthusen Memorial Park in Lynden, Washington. The images of the two trees below are from Stanley park in Vancouver. I spent about four hours walking the trails of the park and observing the very large Western Red Cedars that can be seen throughout the park.
Due to a recent storm there were a great many trees that had been blown down and were being gradually removed park service crews. It was a pity to see even some of the very old giants lying on the ground. Another interesting sight in the park are the "nurse logs". These are logs or stumps that have decomposed and have smaller trees growing on top of them and benefiting from their nourishment.
The BIG stump in the picture below is found at a rest area along Interstate 5 north of Seattle but south of Arlington. It is all that remains of a giant Western Red Cedar that grew in the area before it was killed by a fire in 1893. The stump of this tree is 20 feet across at the base.