Calocedrus decurrens
California Incensecedar

Previously known as: Libocedrus decurrens

Family:

Cupressaceae (Cypress Family) 98

Genus:

Calocedrus (Incensecedar) 2

Plant Type:

Tree 569

Growth Forms:

Columnar 47

Hardiness:

USDA Zone 5 252

Deciduous / Evergreen:

Evergreen 262

Flower Notes:

Gold-Yellow (male and female cone in the spring)

Foliage Notes:

Green (Lustrous, dark green flattened sprays of evergreen foliage)

Stem Notes:

branchlets flattened, fan-like sprays in which the ultimate branches point forward

Fruit Notes:

Brown (Cones containing up to 4 seeds each are reddish-brown in the fall.)

Ultimate Height:

30-50 feet

Ultimate Spread:

8-10 feet

Bloom Times:

Light Requirements:

Soil Notes:

Prefers moist, well-drained soils, but is quite adaptable to soil type, even tolerating poor soils

Range:

Western United States

Maintenance:

Low 266

Diagnostic Characteristics:

The small, glandular leaves are scale-like, arranged in whorls of 4, on branches of vertically-held, flattened sprays. The foliage is aromatic when crushed, smelling similar to incense. The small (0.75-1" long) cones are flattened and reminiscent of a duck's bill when they open to release seed. Mature bark is cinnamon-red, fibrous, furrowed, and scaly.

Ecological Functions:

Pollen and/or Nectar Producer 290

Special Characteristics:

Additional Information

The California Incensecedar is a large, handsome plant, excellent for formal plantings. In youth it is distinctly columnar and may develop a more conical habit at maturity. This plant is quite adaptable to different types of soils and is drought and heat tolerant once established. The California Incensecedar is known to be quite long-lived and large in the wild, even over 1000 years old and reaching more than 150' in height.