Western Red Cedar Timber Species – Thuja plicata

Western Red Cedar AKA Western Red Cedar Dark, Western Red Cedar Light, Cedar, WRC

Western Red Cedar Wood Appearance

Colour – Heartwood varies from pale brown to dark brown. Sapwood is yellowish white and up to 25mm wide.

Grain – Fine textured and straight grained with distinct growth rings.

Western Red Cedar Wood Properties

Density – 380 kg/m3

Durability – Class 2 – Highly resistant to decay when fully exposed to the weather, clear of the ground and well drained with free air circulation.

Hardness – Very soft (rated 6 on a 6 class scale) in relation to indentation and ease of working with hand tools.

Western Red Cedar Identification Features

Sapwood – Yellowish-white, distinct from heartwood

Heartwood – Pink brown to dull brown, often with darker brown streaks

Texture – Fine with typical earlywood/latewood structure. Straight grained.

Western Red Cedar Wood Structure

Growth rings – Distinct, visible without a lens. Latewood to earlywood transitions abrupt. Latewood bands much narrower than earlywood bands.

Vessels – Absent

Resin Canals - Absent

Rays – Fine, visible only with a hand lens

Parenchyma – Not visible with a hand lens

Western Red Cedar Other Features

Burning Splinter Test – A match size splinter burns completely to a grey-black fine filament

Odour – The wood has a characteristic sweet and fragrant cedar odour.