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Western Redcedar - Thuja plicata
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
(see State Rank Reason below)
C-value:
7
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Thuja plicata is a common tree species in mesic forest types in northwest and west-central Montana. No significant and widespread threats to the species are known.
General Description
Large evergreen trees to 60 m tall with reddish-brown, fibrous bark and a conical crown, monoecious. Lower trunk of older trees broad and often buttressed. Branchlets pendant, arrayed in flat sprays. Leaves glossy green, scale-like, opposite, overlapping, appressed against the flattened twigs. Pollen cones 1–3 mm long, reddish. Seed cones ellipsoid, 8–12 mm long, with 4 to 6 pairs of woody, overlapping scales, the top and bottom pairs sterile, maturing the first summer. Fertile scales with 2 seeds each (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Northwestern MT counties; AK to CA, ID and MT (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 2158
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Forest and Woodland
Montane - Subalpine Forest and Woodland
Wetland and Riparian
Riparian and Wetland Forest
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.- Meier, G.A. 1997. The colonization of Montana roadsides by native and exotic plants. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 45 p.
- Morgan, J.T. 1993. Summer habitat use of white-tailed deer on the Tally Lake ranger district, Flathead National Forest. Ph.D. Dissertation. Montana State University, Bozeman. pp. 103.
- Stansberry, B.J. 1991. Distribution, movements, and habitat use during spring, summer, and fall by mule deer in the North Salish Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 64 p.
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