incense cedar

Calocedrus decurrens

Family: Cupressaceae.

Type: Evergreen conifer.

Leaves: Scale-like foliage arranged in flattened sprays. The undersides of the scales have a Pilsener-glass sort of shape, with a broader opening at the top, a narrow waist, and a slightly broader base.

Twig: Bark is composed of narrow, stringy plates stacked atop each other; it is similar to that of the giant sequoia, but more stringy, and less fissured.

Cone: The cones on the incense cedar are unusual and distinctive, small and leathery, in the shape of a duck's beak with the tongue sticking out. Prior to dehiscence, a seed is present on each side of the tongue. Cones are not fire-resistant.

Miscellaneous: The incense cedar is shade tolerant, and its bark is very flammable. As with white fir, it is replacing the giant sequoia and other shade-intolerant species due to fire control policies. It keeps branches low to the ground, which acts to transfer fire into the canopy, making it more likely that fire will burn species such as giant sequoia that are normally fire-resistant. Note that despite the fact that incense cedar is not a true cedar, its name is not hyphenated. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said.