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Trees or shrubs in the genus
Thuja (pronounced "thoo-ya" or "thoo-ja")
in the cypress family
Cupressaceae are commonly known as
Arborvitae, and sometimes
"(western red) cedar",
although they are not cedars. There are five
species in the genus, two native to North America
and three native to eastern Asia.
Evergreen, coniferous trees
growing to 10–60 m tall, with stringy-textured
reddish-brown bark. The shoots are flat, with side
shoots only in a single plane. The leaves are
scale-like 1–10 mm long, except young seedlings in
their first year, which have needle-like leaves. The
scale leaves are arranged in titleernating decussate
pairs in four rows along the twigs. The male cones
are small, inconspicuous, and are located at the
tips of the twigs. The female cones start out
similarly inconspicuous, but grow to about 1-2 cm
long at maturity when 6–8 months old; they have 6-12
overlapping, thin, leathery scales, each scale
bearing 1–2 small seeds with a pair of narrow
lateral wings.
Thuja species are used as
food plants by the
larvae of some
Lepidoptera species including
Autumnal Moth,
The Engrailed and
Juniper Pug. The foliage is also readily eaten
by deer, which where deer population density is high
can adversely affect the growth of young trees.
Arborvitae wood is light, soft
and aromatic. It can be easily split and resists
decay. The wood has been used for many applications
from making chests that repel moths to shingles.
Thuja poles are also often used to make fence posts
and rails. The wood of Thuja plicata is
commonly used for
guitar
soundboards. The foliage of thujas is rich in
Vitamin C, and was used by Native Americans and
early European explorers as a cure for
scurvy.
Oil of thuja is often quoted as
an herbal remedy to be used topically to aid in the
treatment of
HPV,
genital or
common warts. However, clinical evidence for
this action is lacking. Thuja is a popular
homeopathic remedy used to treat a variety of
psychological and physiological conditions.
--adapted from
Wikipedia References:
1.
Oregon State University Dept. of Horticulture
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