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Common Name: Alaska yellow-cedar,
Yellow cypress, Nootka cypress, Alaska cypress
Family: Cupressaceae
Entry Author: C. Westring
Description: A medium sized evergreen with a pyramidal form
Needles: Grayish green in color; needles are spaced close together
Cones: Pollen cones 2-5 mm, grayish brown; pollen sacs yellow
Bark: Bark grayish brown, 1-2 cm thick
Branching Pattern: Leaves of branchlets mostly 1.5-2.5 mm
Height: Up to 40m but may be dwarfed at high elevations
Conditions/Habitat/Kind of Forest: Usually found on avalanche chutes, snowy timberlines, and bog-forest transition areas
Range: USA, Canada: Pacific Coast area Alaska through British Columbia, Washington and Oregon to extreme NW California
Zone: 4
Conservation Status-US/ World Wide: Not threatened
Uses (Human): The tough, straight-grained wood was used by nearly all Northwest Coast peoples for items such as bows. In addition, branch tips and green cones were used for medicinal purposes. Today this wood is used for furniture, finish carpentry, and boats.
References:
Gymnosperm Database, University of Bonn
http://www.botanik.uni-bonn.de/conifers/cu/xa/nootkatensis.htm
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php?species=35759
UConn Plant Database
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/c/chanoo/chanoo1.html
Needles
Branches