cedar, misc

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CEDAR, MISC

botanical name unknown
There are at well over 200 species worldwide, from dozens of different genera, that have the word cedar as all or part of one or more of their common names and, except as specifically stated, I have no idea which of them are represented on this page, which is a catch-all page for any wood that I find labeled cedar but which does not fit on one of the other more specific cedar pages on this site. Further, woods that are called cedar are also VERY often called juniper and/or cypress and it can be difficult to tell just what category a wood should go in.

Some of the more prominent genera that contain species that have the name cedar are (out of several dozen) Cedrela, Cedrus, Jniperus, Tabebuia, Thuja, and Toona.

Several of the Cedrela species are on this site as Spanish cedar, and "Northern white cedar" (Thuja occidentalis) is commonly called arborvitae and is on this site under that name.

my samples:
NOTE: these pics were all taken in very bright incandescent lighting ("soft white" at 2700K)
colors will vary under other lighting conditions

NOT a raw wood color
the middle of a finished stump top (with some cracks) that was being sold as an end table and was just labeled cedar. HUGE enlargements are present. The color is not to be trusted. I took this to show the grain.

NOT a raw wood color
Part of a cedar slab (no species listed) that was stated to be 2000 years old and is about 8 feet long, with my son standing in front of it, and a closeup. As you can see in the enlargement of the closeup, the ring count on this is very high. The closeup section is about 6" high and from it I estimate about 200 rings per inch. The dark horizontal streak was stated as being the results of a forest fire. This was shot in the showroom of Urban Hardwoods in Seattle, WA. They salvage trees from the Seattle area and process them into very expensive but beautiful tables and other furniture. HUGE enlargements are present. I believe there was a finish on this piece but I don't think it changed the color much but the color on this is wrong because I stupidly had my camera on the wrong color balance setting when I took the pics and was not able to do enough color correction to get it back to what the wood really looked like, which IS what is shown on the distance pic.

both sides and both ends of a white cedar sample

end grain closeup (color should have a bit more yellow) and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above and I notice I got the update upside down relative to the original

both sides of a sample plank of deodar cedar / Cedrus deodara --- the relatively poor quality of the sample is fairly common among the sample planks I got from the IWCS and I don't know how representative this piece is of the species (I do know that many of their samples were not representative). LATER: OK, based on the new sample below, I now judge THIS sample to be reasonably representative, it's just cut at the outside of a small trunk or a large branch and has a little blue stain. It also has a lot of internal cracking which is indicative of a poor drying process.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank listed as deodar cedar / Cedrus deodara

end grain and end grain closeup up of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of deodar cedar / Cedrus deodara --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of deodar cedar / Cedrus deodara --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of atlas cedar / Cedrus atlantica --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Cedrus atlantica is also called Atlantic cedar

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

both sides of a sample plank of blue atlas cedar / Cedrus spp. --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was contributed to the site by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The first face has been sanded smooth and the second face has not.

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above

end grain and end grain closeup of the piece directly above

END GRAIN UPDATE from the other end of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of Bermuda cedar / Juniperus bermudiana --- HUGE enlargements are present. Also known as Bermuda juniper but more commonly called Bermuda cedar.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above

both sides of a sample plank of African pencil cedar / Juniperus procera --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was loaned to me by Mark Peet whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. The darker color of the second face is due to a problem w/ my camera; it should be exactly the same as the first side, but I couldn't get the color correction quite right after the camera screwed up.

end grain and HIGH GRIT END GRAIN CLOSEUP of the piece directly above. I note that unlike all the other Juniperus spp. on this and other cedar pages on this site, the growth ring boundaries on this piece are relatively vague (the rest of the end grain does look like some Juniperus)

first face and the end grain of a sample listed as just "red cedar". This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION B

the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.

first face and the end grain of a sample listed as just "white cedar". This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION B

the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE from directly above.

first face and the end grain of a sample of white cedar / Cedrus alba --- This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION C

the second face, before and after slicing off 1/8" showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

first face and the end grain of a sample of cedar / unknown species --- This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION G

the second face, before and after sanding it down a bit, showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

first face and the end grain of a sample of some kind of cedar --- This part of a collection which is discussed here: COLLECTION G. The written label has a name or proably two names in front of the word cedar, but I can't make them out.

the second face, before and after sanding it down a bit, showing how the patina from aging is only surface deep.

end grain closeup and END GRAIN UPDATE of the piece directly above

two faces each of two small pieces of some variety of cedar

end grain and end grain closeup of the pieces directly above

misc planks photographed at a lumber yard --- don't know which type of cedar this is but the colors shown are accurate and I do believe it likely that they are all the same species, so probably western red which has a huge color variation

plank shot at a lumber yard, identified only as "select cedar" --- HUGE enlargements are present.

planks shot at LOWES and listed as just "cedar"

NOT A RAW WOOD COLOR
cedar flooring pic provided by Iain Rankin ... not sure what species or what finish, but I thank Iain for the pic. Both enlargements are present. Iain had this flooring made from a couple of massive old beams from the London dock area that he had resawn into planks for this purpose.

all of the following are the same species of cedar, but I don't know what species that is

veneer sheet and closeup

veneer

Australian red cedar veneer --- HUGE enlargements are present. This sample was contributed to the site by David Clark whom I thank for this and other contributions to the site. Note, this is either a Toona species or a Cedrela species.

The Wood Book pics

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
California incense cedar (Libocedrus decurrens) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views. NOTE: Libocedrus decurrens was probably the accepted botanical name when the Wood Book was written but today it is considered as just a syn. for Calocedrus decurrens

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
Southern white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views. NOTE: based on the botanical name, I don't know whether this should perhaps be consider as cypress. Among the many common names for this botanical name there are numerous cedar names AND numerous cypress names and I generally have the genus Chamaecyparis as cypress, but since this one seems to be up for either and the Wood Book has it as cedar I've put it here with cedar.

flat cut, quartersawn, end grain
pencil cedar (Juniperus barbadensis, also listed as Southern red cedar) from The Wood Book --- both levels of enlargement are available for each of the 3 views.

web pics:

listed as "African cedar", but I don't think it's really cedar at all --- I think it's probably movingui as was suggested by a correspondent.

Argentine rose cedar plank

plank listed as Atlantic cedar / Cedrus atlantica and with wet and dry sections

Australian white cedar. Note that this is probably Pentaceras australe and is not what would be considered a cedar in the USA.

white cedar, plank and turning block

Alaskan cedar plank --- I don't find the brilliant yellow believable

plank and closeup listed as Cedrella odorata

"pencil" cedar

unspecified quartersawn cedar veneer and closeup --- I included this set mostly just as another example of how tan/brown woods sometimes come out purple with digital cameras, as the closeup obviously did for this vendor. The distance shot has likely color and the closeup is the kind of silly nonesense that made me start this site in the first place.

yet another species of cedar and I don't know what this one is either (actually looks a bit like plum pudding mahogany)

a plank listed as "golden" cedar and one listed as "red" cedar

"red" cedar veneer

veneer sheets, all from the same vendor, just advertised as "cedar" with no variety specified.

veneer

pomelle veneer

there are numerous types of cedar that have the common name "toon". This is, supposedly, one of them, but I have no idea which one.

red cedar burl

listed as pencil cedar burl --- at a quick glance, it looks like vavona (redwood burl) but on closer examination you can see that it is different. One correspondent suggested that it is thuya burl and I find that more likely than a cedar burl.

veneer listed as "cedar burl" and a closeup --- this certainly does NOT look like a burl to me; it's more like a very light pomelle pattern.

Australian cedar and the same two planks moistened --- look strange to me; I've seen moistening significant enrich the color in wood but I have not experienced a wood going from brown to bright orange without the addition of a coloring agent. This vendor has shown other woods that change color similarly when "moistened" and I wonder if perhaps he "corrects" the color digitally. Also, it is totally indeterminate (to me anyway) just what species this might be. "Australian" cedar covers a LOT of species, very few of which would be considered cedar in the USA.

plank listed as Australian red cedar and thus likely a Toona or Cedrela species

bowl listed as just "cedar"

blue atlas cedar bowls turned and photographed by Tom Pleatman, whom I thank for these pics and other contributions to the site. Big enlargements are present.

carved bowl listed as just "cedar"

guitar front from a wood only identified as cedar