Thuja plicata D. Don

Spice Flower detail Strobile In the University

Family: CUPRESSACEAE

Genus: Thuja

Catalan common name: Tuia.

Spanish common name: Tuya. Tuya gigante.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Asia

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Macrophanerophyte.

Habitats: Garden plants.

Description: A tree that can reach up to 60 m in height in its native lands of the Pacific Northwest, although in this country its does not usually reach over 20 m in height. The canopy is pyramidal. Thin, cinnamon coloured bark with longitudinal curls. Scaly leaves in rows of four, dark shiny green, with the inferior side with a whitish texture. When the leaf is crushed it gives off a resinous aroma. Elongated cones, straight and light brown in colour, formed by 8-12 scales, flat and mucuronate at the apex.

Observations: Indigenous peoples used the wood of this tree for canoes, pirogues and totem poles.