Calocedrus decurrens
Incense Cedar, Cedro Incienso

CUPRESSACEAE (Cypress Family)

The generic name refers to the Greek "kalos" or beautiful and "kedros" or cedar. The specific epithet refers to the Latin "decurro" or "genit." generation, the act of generating or begetting.

Description

A large cedar with a dense, narrow, pyramidal crown growing to 25-40 m (75 to 120 ft) high with reddish brown bark. The branchlets are light green 3-10 mm (0.12-0.4 in), flattened and have overlapping scale like leaves occurring in whorls of four, and emit a fragrance when warm or crushed. The small yellow brown, leathery oblong female cones are 5-7 mm (0.20-0.28 in) and contain four red-brown winged seeds that mature in early spring.

Range and Habitat

The Incense Cedar grows at higher elevations in the Sierra Juárez, Sierra San Pedro Martír, and into the mountains of California and Nevada.

Natural History

The wood is used for shingles, fence posts, and railroad ties, the seeds are edible. The tree is afforded special protections in Baja California. The Incense Cedar is found on mountain slopes and canyons in yellow-pine and juniper-pine forests above 1,400 m (4,200 ft).