Georgia Wildlife Federation

Resources < Wildlife Habitats < Guide to Native Plants of Georgia for Wildlife < Chamaecyparis thyoides

Atlantic Whitecedar is a wetland tree whose history has been closely associated with timbering and the destruction of many American swamps during the 18th and 19th centuries. Hundreds of thousands of acres of wetlands across the Coastal Plain have been drained and cutover for the timber of this tree as well as baldcypress. Atlantic Whitecedar’s fluted trunks held large quantities of rot-resistant heartwood. It was used in the construction of railroads, roads, shingles, and housing developments.

Steadily, however, this tree is regenerating, primarily as a result of reintroduction initiatives. It is of peak importance to many kinds of wildlife. Whitecedar swamps can contain up to twice the avian diversity over other types of swamps simply because their evergreen foliage provides nesting habitat and protection during winter. Trees often gain a drooping, graceful beauty over time after their branches become bent by the weight of heavy snowfalls. In the spring, the foliage tips turn a deep purple as pollen cones form.

Family: Cupressaceae (Cypress)

Description: A medium-sized evergreen coniferous tree with a thin or spire-like crown. Bark is thin, fibrous, somewhat peeling, and ashy gray to reddish brown. Foliage is feathery in flattened sprays and green to glaucous blue-green in color. Leaves are scale-like, 2-4 mm long, and produced in opposite decussate pairs on flattened shoots. They are aromatic when crushed. Juvenile plants under one year old have needle-like leaves. Seed cones are globose, 4-9 mm in diameter, have 6-10 scales, are green or purple, and mature to brown 5-7 months after pollination. Pollen cones are purple or brown, 2-3 mm long and 1-2 mm broad, and release pollen in spring.

Size: 20-40 feet tall and 6-15 feet wide

Habit: Medium-sized evergreen coniferous tree

Planting and Care: Atlantic Whitecedar prefers deep, moist, and sandy soil, preferably with an acidic pH between 4.0 and 6.0. It thrives with above-average relative humidity. One major struggle with this tree is snow-caused breakage in winter. Also, seedlings and juvenile plants should be protected for the first year to prevent herbivore damage until they can establish.

Ornamental Value: Atlantic Whitecedar’s assets include its glaucous evergreen foliage as well as the purplish tinge of its pollen cones in spring.

Landscape Use: Use Atlantic Whitecedar to fill the same roles as the non-native Leyland Cypress, taking care to site it in moist but well-drained soil. It is useful as a lawn tree, a specimen, screens, windbreaks, for wet sites, or interspersed within naturalized areas.

Wildlife Benefits: Atlantic Whitecedar has great ecological importance. Young and tender leaves are a favored food of browsing animals like white-tailed deer. Groves of its evergreen foliage provide shelter to deer and many other animals during winter by blocking winds and snow. It provides habitat for nesting birds like hawks, owls, and songbirds. Atlantic Whitecedar is also the exclusive host for the Hessel's Hairstreak butterfly. Because of habitat destruction, this butterfly’s iridescent green streaks are now rarely seen.

Native Habitat: Native to the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Maine south to Georgia, then along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Louisiana. It grows in bogs, wooded swamps, and in a few locations in the Georgia Piedmont.