Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Share

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Callitropsis nootkatensis

Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Oerst. ex D.P. Little

Alaska Cedar, Alaska-cedar, Yellow Cedar, Nootka Cedar

Cupressaceae (Cypress Family)

Synonym(s): Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Cupressus nootkatensis, Xanthocyparis nootkatensis

USDA Symbol: CANO9

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), AK (N), CAN (N)

Tree with narrow crown and horizontal or slightly drooping branches. Usually a medium-sized tree of 80 ft., Alaska-cedar ranges in height from 15-150 ft., depending mostly on elevation. Mature trees have a narrow profile, stringy white bark, a buttressed trunk and weeping branches. The evergreen foliage, in flat, drooping sprays, is a dull, dark green.

The durable wood has a pleasant, resinous odor; it is used for furniture, interior finish, and boats. Northwest Coast Indians made canoe paddles from the wood and carved ceremonial masks from the trunks.

 

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Tree
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Fruit Type: Cone
Size Notes: Up to about 150 feet.
Leaf: Green
Fruit: Pollen cones brown. Though technically incorrect, the seed cones are often referred to as berries.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Yellow
Bloom Time: Apr

Distribution

USA: AK , CA , OR , WA
Canada: BC
Native Distribution: Coastal s.e. AK, s., at increasing elevations, to Siskiyou Co., CA
Native Habitat: Moist, sea level areas in the north to timberline areas in the south

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Wet
CaCO3 Tolerance: None
Soil Description: Coarse, moist soil.
Conditions Comments: Callitropsis nootkatensis is slow-growing and useful in urban settings.

Propagation

Description: Propagation is by seeds or cuttings. Seed germination is not high.
Seed Collection: Cones mature in Sept. and Oct. at the end of the first growing season. Each cone scale bears from 1-5 winged seeds.
Seed Treatment: Warm-moist stratify for 30 days then stratify 30 more days at 40 degrees. A cool-moist stratification alone may improve germination also.
Commercially Avail: yes

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:AGCPAKAWCBEMPGPHIMWNCNEWMVE
Status: FAC FAC FAC
This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Callitropsis nootkatensis in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Callitropsis nootkatensis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Callitropsis nootkatensis

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-03-23
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back