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Arborvitae are also known as Thujas.
They are commonly known as arborvitaes (from Latin for tree of life) or thujas; several species are widely known as cedar but because they are not true cedars (Cedrus) it has been recommended to call them red cedars or white cedars
Thujas are evergreen trees growing from 10 to 60 feet (3.0 to 18 metres) tall, with stringy-textured reddish-brown bark. The shoots are flat, with side shoots only in a single plane. The leaves are scale-like 1 to 10 mm long, except young seedlings in their first year, which have needle-like leaves.
The scale leaves are arranged in alternating decussate pairs in four rows along the twigs. The male cones are small, inconspicuous, and are located at the tips of the twigs. The female cones start out similarly inconspicuous, but grow to about 1 to 2 cm long at maturity when 6 to 8 months old; they have 6 to 12 overlapping, thin, leathery scales, each scale bearing 1 to 2 small seeds with a pair of narrow lateral wings.
Thuja species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Autumnal Moth, The Engrailed and Juniper Pug. The foliage is also readily eaten by deer, and where deer population density is high, can adversely affect the growth of young trees and the establishment of seedlings.
They are widely grown as ornamental trees, and extensively used for hedges. A number of cultivars are grown and used in landscapes.
The wood is light, soft and aromatic. It can be easily split and resists decay. The wood has been used for many applications from making chests that repel moths to shingles. Thuja poles are also often used to make fence posts and rails. The wood of Thuja plicata is commonly used for guitar sounding boards.
The natives of Canada used the needles of Thuja occidentalis (Eastern White Cedar) to make a tea that has been shown to contain 50 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams. This helped fight off scurvy.
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