Northern White Cedar or  Arborvitae  (Thuja occidentalis)
 
Northern white cedar that survived the 1999 blowdown and 2002 fire. Estimated age about 800 years (tree is hollow). Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area, MN
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White cedar swamp, Michigan State Fisheries Visitors Center, MI

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White cedar bark on a young tree.


Lee contemplates a fallen giant cedar that he estimated may have been up to 900 years old. A cbh of 186 inches was measured and the height of the tree when standing was estimated at 75 to 80 feet, South Manitou Island, MI

 One of the two main contenders for the title of champion Thuja Occidentalis at this site with a measured height of 77.7 feet, cbh of 145 inches and spread of nearly 24 feet.

 

  • http://www.discover.com/issues/feb-96/features/theverticalfores693/ 
    Lee Frelich commented Sept 29, 2006:
    Clearly there is some nonsense in this article. For example, that cedar
    trees cannot survive long on a horizontal surface because of their
    architecture, and they tip over at a young age. On our 700 plots in the
    big blowdown of 1999 in the Boundary Waters, white cedar had the lowest
    windthrow mortality rate of among all the species present. Trees 200-400
    years old that are standing vertically are common in many places throughout
    the midwest, including the Wisconsin part of the Niagara Escarpment. Some
    cedars do blow down and survive, and the species is more likely to survive
    after blowing down than any other species in the region. But that doesn't
    mean that trees can't survive if they are still standing vertically.