# White Cedar from Texas?



## towingace (Feb 18, 2015)

I just returned from doing a beach recovery. When I got there, these two fellas from Texas had unloaded several 4 ft. long logs out of their truck, in an effort to lighten it up. As I was helping them load them back into their truck, I asked what kind of wood it was. They stated it was White Cedar. I wasn't sure why somebody would haul these little logs all the way from Texas to the state of Washington. When I asked them, they said they make furniture out of it & sell it on the road. They seemed kind of nervous & hard to communicate with, so the conversation didn't go much further.

Does White Cedar grow in Texas, or were these guy's pullin' my leg? I've never seen cedar with as much pitch as this wood had. 

A pickup truck with a handful of little logs (and a chit load of luggage cases), traveling from Texas to Washington? I asked them what they had for saws. They replied that they had several saws & that ONE of them was a chainsaw! I didn't see any saws, sawdust, or any indication of wood milling on the road. 

I might be a little overly suspicious at times, but I smelled "Border Wars".


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## madhatte (Feb 18, 2015)

Most likely little "white cedar" is juniper; pinyon/juniper forest is aggressively weedy in TX and is a major contributor to wildfire severity and frequency. I have no idea why anybody would haul it up here, though.


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## towingace (Feb 18, 2015)

Yeah, the whole thing didn't make much sense. You're probably right, the outer sapwood was light colored & the rest was much darker. There wasn't any bark on it, just weathered/gray. They were only about 12"-14" dia., but they were pretty dang heavy.


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## BeatCJ (Feb 18, 2015)

Arizona Cypress is also called White Cedar. Still doesn't make sense why they would have logs on a Washington beach, but people can do surprising things.


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## 1270d (Feb 18, 2015)

We have white cedar here in Michigan and it not dark, heavy, or pitchy. Does make nice furniture and houses though


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## towingace (Feb 18, 2015)

1270d said:


> We have white cedar here in Michigan and it not dark, heavy, or pitchy. Does make nice furniture and houses though


That was my thought, I'm familiar with Alaska Yellow Cedar, Port Orford Cedar, & Western Red Cedar. None of those are pitchy, either.


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## treeslayer2003 (Feb 18, 2015)

cypress in AZ? lol it grows in swamps here as well as white ceder in a few spots.........they won't let us cut it. non tidal and in some cases tidal wet lands=no equipment.
what do y'all mean by pitchy? most any ceder here [white, red] is nearly white with a small heart.


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## towingace (Feb 18, 2015)

treeslayer2003 said:


> cypress in AZ? lol it grows in swamps here as well as white ceder in a few spots.........they won't let us cut it. non tidal and in some cases tidal wet lands=no equipment.
> what do y'all mean by pitchy? most any ceder here [white, red] is nearly white with a small heart.


Around here, almost all evergreens are pitchy (except cedar). I can't think of any deciduous trees that are pitchy. Pitchy means just that, pitch running out of the grain (sometimes in big pockets), especially after a fresh cut. Locally, the Sitka Spruce & most all pine species, are extremely pitchy (internally AND externally). Douglas Fir is much less pitchy & Western Hemlock is less than DF.

At least WE call it pitch, maybe other areas have a different name for it.


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## 1270d (Feb 18, 2015)

Back in the day the when the old timers cut balsam it was said they had to climb in and out of their pants. At night, just lean em in the corner. Pitchy, very pitchy. I think balsam fir is like piss fir a little or grand fir.


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## treeslayer2003 (Feb 18, 2015)

ah yes.....sappy lol. yellow pine can be at times. trailer has permenant sap globs on it. i just paint over it, it ain't comin off. never ever seen ceder that way.


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## TheJollyLogger (Feb 19, 2015)

Texas cedar, actually juniper, is a beautiful wood with very pale sapwood contrasting with dark red heartwood. And yes, very pitchy. Sounds like what they had.


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## towingace (Feb 19, 2015)

I'll be darned, why do they call it a cedar in Texas, when it's actually a juniper?


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## SliverPicker (Feb 19, 2015)

1270d said:


> We have white cedar here in Michigan and it not dark, heavy, or pitchy. Does make nice furniture and houses though



It's the perfect thing to line your SOW-nuh (sauna) with too!

balsam/fir is very similar to piss fir (subalpine fir, white fir).


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## madhatte (Feb 20, 2015)

Y'all wanna break your brains? NONE of the trees we call "cedars" in the US are true cedars; all of ours are in the Cypress family. There are only three species of true cedars, and they are in the PINE family of all things! They have needles in bundles like larches, and barrel-shaped cones that point up like true firs. This is an Atlas cedar, which is native to NW Africa, and is a commonly planted ornamental in the PNW:


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## towingace (Feb 20, 2015)

madhatte said:


> Y'all wanna break your brains? NONE of the trees we call "cedars" in the US are true cedars; all of ours are in the Cypress family. There are only three species of true cedars, and they are in the PINE family of all things! They have needles in bundles like larches, and barrel-shaped cones that point up like true firs. This is an Atlas cedar, which is native to NW Africa, and is a commonly planted ornamental in the PNW:


That tree strongly resembles the Deodar cedar that nurseries here market for landscaping purposes. All of the different hybrids they come up with makes things even more confusing. BTW, I'm easily confused, I think my brain is already broke.

That tree in your wikipic is a beautiful specimen.


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## TheJollyLogger (Feb 20, 2015)

Cause it's Texas, doesn't have to make sense....


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## treeslayer2003 (Feb 20, 2015)

madhatte said:


> Y'all wanna break your brains? NONE of the trees we call "cedars" in the US are true cedars; all of ours are in the Cypress family. There are only three species of true cedars, and they are in the PINE family of all things! They have needles in bundles like larches, and barrel-shaped cones that point up like true firs. This is an Atlas cedar, which is native to NW Africa, and is a commonly planted ornamental in the PNW:


on this side to Nate? eastern red and white ceder. i suspect white is a cypress as it grows in swamps. red grows on high ground though........never really gets any size before blowing over.


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## 1270d (Feb 20, 2015)

interesting madhatte, thanks for pointing that out. I didn't realize that our thuja occidentalis is a close relative of the western red cedar. The job we are cutting on now has some of the biggest cedar I have been around. All of them are left due to a lack of market. Some are probably 30 + inch and 60 ft tall or more


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## madhatte (Feb 20, 2015)

There are in this world only three True Cedars: Atlas cedars, Cedars of Lebanon, and Deodar cedars (there may be a fourth but the taxonomists are still arguing about it). All US-native "cedars" are in the Cypress family. I am uncertain where Americans acquired the odd affectation of calling junipers and cypresses "cedar".


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