Port Orford cedar is of great importance in horticulture, with several hundred cultivars available for garden and yard planting. Port orford cedar grows best in well-drained but moist soils. The wood is light and durable highly valued in Japan where it is in high demand for making coffins, shrines and temples. Due to the straightness of its grain, it is also one of the preferred woods for the manufacture of arrow shafts.
1. The Images of Port Orford Cedar
Velela, Wikimedia Commons
Forestryimages.org provides several images of parts of Port Orford Cedar. The tree is a conifer and the lineal taxonomy is Pinopsida > Pinales > Cupressaceae > Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murr.) Parl. Port Orford cedar is also commonly called lawson cedar, oregon cedar, port orford cedar, port orford white cedar.
2. The Range of Port Orford Cedar
USGS 1999
Port-Orford-cedar grows in a small area near the Pacific coast in southern Oregon and northern California. It is most often seen on uplifted marine terraces and in the coast ranges of southern Coos County and northern Curry County, OR. A secondary concentration is found at high elevations in the upper reaches of the Illinois and Klamath River drainages near the Oregon State boundary. It is also scattered through areas extending out from this location.
3. The Silviculture of Port-Orford Cedar
Port-Orford cedar, of all major forest trees found in western North America, has suffered most from human activity. Nearly all old-growth POC forests have been logged, and the surviving trees are steadily dying from an introduced disease. In the landscape, many cultivars are used as ornamentals and are the most important ornamental conifer species in the U.K.
