Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb. var. henryae (Li) Little
Cupressus thyoides L.
Cupressus thyoides L. ssp. henryae (H.L. Li) Silba
Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb.
Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white-cedar, white-cedar, swamp-cedar
Atlantic white cedar is native to the east coast of North America.
Plants: Trees are 66–92′ (20–28 m) tall, bushy and roughly conical in shape. Bark is light gray to reddish brown, thin, fibrous, often peeling.
Leaves: Foliage consists of flattened sprays of scaly needles, green or bluish-green, with sharp tips. Crushed foliage has a strong cedar smell.
Flowers: Inconspicuous, about ⅛″ (3 mm) in size. Red to yellow male flowers and green female flowers occur on the same tree.
Fruits: Cones are spherical in shape, about ⅛″ (6 mm) in diameter, bluish when young, turning yellow-brown, and oddly shaped, like flared bells.
Habitats: Wet, swampy ground, peaty soils.
Online References:
Chamaecyparis henryae Li
Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb. var. henryae (Li) Little
Cupressus thyoides L.
Cupressus thyoides L. ssp. henryae (H.L. Li) Silba
Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb. var. henryae (Li) Little
Cupressus thyoides L.
Cupressus thyoides L. ssp. henryae (H.L. Li) Silba
Atlantic whitecedar swamp. · 4/3/2026 · Cedar Swamp, Powers Farm Community Park, Randolph, Massachusetts 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 11 × 8″ (28 × 19 cm) 
Atlantic whitecedar swamp. · 4/3/2026 · Cedar Swamp, Powers Farm Community Park, Randolph, Massachusetts 
Atlantic whitecedar swamp. · 4/3/2026 · Cedar Swamp, Powers Farm Community Park, Randolph, Massachusetts 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 11 × 8″ (28 × 19 cm) 
5/15/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 
5/22/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (76 × 50 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Coniferophyta | Conifers—cone-bearing trees (and a few shrubs) |
| Class | Pinopsida | Gymnosperms such as cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews |
| Order | Pinales | Cone-bearing plants: cedar, cypress, fir, juniper, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, yew, and others |
| Family | Cupressaceae | Cypres family, including junipers and redwoods |
| Genus | Chamaecyparis | From the Greek chamae, “dwarf, low-growing, or growing on the ground” and kyparissos, “cypress,” meaning “dwarf or ground cypress.” Herbalist John Dunne-Brady adds that the genus Chamaecyparis was named “by the French botanist Edouard Spach (1801-1879) and published in 1841 in the eleventh volume of Historie Naturelle des Vegetaux Phanerogames.” He states further that this is “an inaccurate and inappropriate description because all species are erect and some grow as high as 120 feet” |
| Species | thyoides | A reference to the leaves, which resemble those of Thuja |
Chamaecyparis thyoides description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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