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Chamaecyparis thyoides
Also called Atlantic White Cypress, Atlantic White Cedar, White Cedar Tree, Southern white-cedar, White Cedar
Atlantic white cedar is a large conifer of the cypress family, native to the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the eastern U.S., where it forms dense stands in wet forested swamps. It needs consistently moist soil and is mainly grown as a landscape or Christmas tree.
Chamaecyparis thyoides, the Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress, is a species of conifer in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. It is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to Georgia and along the Gulf of Mexico coast from Florida to Mississippi. It is one of two species of Chamaecyparis found in North America. C. thyoides resides on the East Coast and C. lawsoniana can be found on the West Coast. There are two geographically isolated subspecies, treated by some botanists as distinct species, by others at just varietal rank: Chamaecyparis thyoides thyoides and Chamaecyparis thyoides henryae (H.L.Li) E.Murray (syn. Chamaecyparis thyoides subsp. henryae (H.L.Li) Little; Chamaecyparis henryae H.L.Li)
The species grows in forested wetlands where they tend to dominate the canopy.
Chamaecyparis thyoides is of some importance in horticulture, with several cultivars of varying crown shape, growth rates and foliage color having been selected for garden planting. Named cultivars include 'Aurea' (yellow foliage), 'Heatherbun' (dwarf, purple in winter), 'Andelyensis' (dwarf, dense foliage), 'Ericoides' (juvenile foliage), and 'Glauca' (strongly glaucous foliage). In some locations, particularly Mobile County, Alabama, the tree is cultivated as a Christmas tree.
Chamaecyparis thyoides grows within 100 miles of the coastline and less than 50 m above sea level along much of the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Rare populations grow in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, where the tree may be found up to 460 m above sea level. Nationally, Atlantic white cedar is protected in the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Pinelands National Reserve, Cape Cod National Seashore, Croatan National Forest, Francis Marion National Forest, Ocala National Forest, and Apalachicola National Forest. Altered fire regimes, logging, and draining of wetlands outside of the few protected areas have all contributed to the general decrease in the size and occurrences of Atlantic white cedar stands. The tree is listed as Rare in Georgia and New York, of Special Concern in Maine, and Extirpated in Pennsylvania. In Mississippi, the species is at risk of extirpation as a consequence of overexploitation, changes in land use, and extreme weather events.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Chamaecyparis thyoides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
