View source for Calocedrus

{{Short description|Genus of conifer trees}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Incense-cedar
| image = Calocedrus_decurrens_7947.jpg
| image_caption = ''Calocedrus decurrens''<br />California incense cedar
| taxon = Calocedrus
| authority = [[Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz|Kurz]]
|type_species =''[[Calocedrus macrolepis]]''
|type_species_authority =[[Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz|Kurz]]
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=c/>
| synonyms = ''Heyderia'' <small>K.Koch 1873 non Link 1833</small>
}}
[[File:Incense Cedar in Lassen VNP.jpg|upright=0.9|thumb|California incense cedar, in [[Lassen Volcanic National Park]]]]

'''''Calocedrus''''', the '''incense cedar''' (alternatively spelled '''incense-cedar'''), is a [[genus]] of [[conifer]]ous [[tree]]s in the cypress family [[Cupressaceae]] first described as a genus in 1873.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kurz |first=Wilhelm Sulpiz |author-link=Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz |date=1873 |title=On a few new plants from Yunan |journal=Journal of Botany, British and Foreign |volume=11 |page=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34838059 196] |oclc=1642195}}</ref><ref>{{Tropicos|40035335|Calocedrus|Kurz}}</ref> Three species are native to [[East Asia|eastern Asia]] and one to western [[North America]].<ref name=c>{{WCSP|382423|Calocedrus}}</ref>

==Description==
The genus is related to ''[[Thuja]]'', and has similar overlapping scale-leaves. ''Calocedrus'' differs from ''Thuja'' in the scale leaves being in apparent whorls of four (actually opposite decussate pairs like ''Thuja'', but not evenly spaced apart as in ''Thuja'', instead with the successive pairs closely then distantly spaced), and in the [[conifer cone|cones]] having just 2–3 pairs of moderately thin, erect scales, rather than 4–6 pairs of very thin scales in ''Thuja''.

== Taxonomy ==
The generic name ''Calocedrus'' means "beautiful cedar".

Cladogram showing the evolutionary relationships:
{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="1" |Stull et al. 2021<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |last2=Qu |first2=Xiao-Jian |last3=Parins-Fukuchi |first3=Caroline |last4=Yang |first4=Ying-Ying |last5=Yang |first5=Jun-Bo |last6=Yang |first6=Zhi-Yun |last7=Hu |first7=Yi |last8=Ma |first8=Hong |last9=Soltis |first9=Pamela S. |last10=Soltis |first10=Douglas E. |last11=Li |first11=De-Zhu |last12=Smith |first12=Stephen A. |last13=Yi |first13=Ting-Shuang |display-authors=et al. |year=2021 |title=Gene duplications and phylogenomic conflict underlie major pulses of phenotypic evolution in gymnosperms |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-00964-4 |journal=Nature Plants |volume=7 |issue=8 |pages=1015–1025 |bibcode= |biorxiv=10.1101/2021.03.13.435279 |doi=10.1038/s41477-021-00964-4 |pmc= |pmid=34282286 |s2cid=232282918 |doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stull |first1=Gregory W. |display-authors=et al. |year=2021 |title=main.dated.supermatrix.tree.T9.tre |url=https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Gene_duplications_and_genomic_conflict_underlie_major_pulses_of_phenotypic_evolution_in_gymnosperms/14547354 |publisher=Figshare |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.14547354.v1 |doi-access=}}</ref>
|- 
| style="vertical-align:top" |
{{clade|style=font-size:90%;line-height:80%
|label1=''Calocedrus''
|1={{clade
  |1=''[[Calocedrus decurrens|C. decurrens]]'' <small>(Torrey) Florin</small>
  |2={{clade
    |1=''[[Calocedrus macrolepis|C. macrolepis]]'' <small>Kurz</small>
    |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Calocedrus formosana|C. formosana]]'' <small>(Florin) Florin</small>
      |2=''[[Calocedrus rupestris|C. rupestris]]'' <small>Aver., Nguyên & Lôc</small>
       }}
     }}
   }}
}}
|}[[Image:Calocedrus decurrens 7976.jpg|thumb|right|''C. decurrens'' foliage and male cones]]

==Species==
===Extant species===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Name !! Description !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Calocedrus decurrens (young female cones).jpg|120px]]|| ''[[Calocedrus decurrens]]'', California incense cedar (syn. ''Libocedrus decurrens'') || It is a large tree, typically reaching heights of 40–60 m and a trunk diameter of up to 3 m (maxima, 69 m tall and 3.9 m diameter), and with a broad conic crown of spreading branches. The leaves are bright green on both sides of the shoots, and the cones 2–2.5&nbsp;cm long. It is by far the most widely known species in the genus, and is often simply called "incense cedar" without the regional qualifier. ||western North America
|-
|[[File:Calocedrus macrolepis var formosana4.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Calocedrus formosana]]'', Taiwan incense cedar  ||It is very similar to ''C. macrolepis'', and some botanists treat it as a variety of that, ''C. macrolepis'' var. ''formosana''. It is a medium-sized tree, growing to 25–30 m tall, and is rare in the wild, occurring only as scattered trees in mixed forests. The leaves are glaucous green on the upper side of the shoots, and conspicuously marked with bright white stomatal patches on the underside. The cones are 1.5–2&nbsp;cm long, carried on a 1–1.5&nbsp;cm stem.<ref>{{eFloras|2|200005407|Calocedrus macrolepis var. formosana |first1=Liguo |last1=Fu |first2=Yong-fu |last2=Yu |first3=Robert P. |last3=Adams |first4=Aljos |last4=Farjon |volume=4}}</ref>  ||[[Taiwan]]
|-
|[[File:Calocedrus macrolepis kz1.jpg|120px]] ||''[[Calocedrus macrolepis]]'', Chinese incense cedar  ||It is also a medium-size tree to 25–30 m tall, and like ''C. formosana'', is rare in the wild. The leaves and cones are similar to ''C. formosana'', differing most obviously in the shorter cone stem, only 0.5&nbsp;cm long.<ref>{{eFloras|2|200005406|Calocedrus macrolepis |first1=Liguo |last1=Fu |first2=Yong-fu |last2=Yu |first3=Robert P. |last3=Adams |first4=Aljos |last4=Farjon |volume=4}}</ref>  ||southwest [[China]] (from [[Guangdong]] west to [[Yunnan]]), and also in northern [[Vietnam]], northern [[Laos]], extreme northern [[Thailand]] and northeastern [[Myanmar]]
|-
| ||''[[Calocedrus rupestris]]''  || The most recently discovered living species of ''Calocedrus'', first described in 2004. It occurs exclusively on rocky limestone ([[karst]]) terrain, a habitat that has a very high level of endemism. The close proximity of these populations to the [[China|Chinese]] and [[Laos|Laotian]] borders indicates that the species may occur in those countries as well. It is an evergreen, monoecious tree up to 25 m tall with a broadly rounded crown. The epithet "rupestris" means "rock-dwelling".<ref>Averyanov, H.T. Nguyen & L.K. Phan.  Issues of Basic Research in Life Sciences with direction in upland agriculture and forestry. Proceedings, the 2004th [sic] National Conference on Life Sciences Thai Nguyen University, September 23, 2004 41–43, 1.</ref><ref>{{WCSP|381482|Calocedrus rupestris}}</ref> ||Vietnam
|-
|}

===Extinct species===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!  Name !! Description !! Distribution
|-
|{{extinct}}''[[Calocedrus huashanensis]]'' ||Described in 2012. It is known from [[compression fossil]]s found in the [[Oligocene]] age [[Ningming]] Formation of southern China. ''Calocedrus huashanensis'' is known from branches and leaves. || southern China
|-
|{{extinct}}''[[Calocedrus suleticensis]]'' ||known from [[fossil]]s found in the [[Early Oligocene]] of [[Proboštov|Probostov]] (Holy Kluk Hill) in the volcanic complex of the Ceske stredohori Mts., [[Bohemia]]. ''Calocedrus suleticensis'' is known from a cone. ||[[Czech Republic]]
|-
|}

==Uses==

===Archery===
Incense cedar was one of the favored varieties of wood used to make bows by Native Americans in California. Like [[juniper]], and [[Taxus brevifolia|Pacific yew]], the other two coveted bow woods among Pacific Natives, this wood has excellent flexibility and compression strength-weight ratio. When backed with sinew, it produces extremely flexible, fast, hard-hitting bows, which are rivaled only by horn-sinew composite bows for their ability to store and release elastic energy. The archer Saxton Pope observed that [[Ishi]] used this wood to produce short bows.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.archerylibrary.com/books/pope/hunting-with-bow-and-arrow/chapter02_2.html|title = How Ishi made his bow and his method of shooting, from: Hunting with the Bow and Arrow by Saxton Pope, 1923|date = 11 February 2019}}</ref>

===Lumber===
The [[wood]] of ''Calocedrus'' is soft, moderately decay-resistant, and with a strong spicy-resinous fragrance. That of ''C. decurrens'' is the primary material for wooden [[pencil]]s, because it is soft and tends to sharpen easily without forming splinters. The two Asian species were (at least in the past) in very high demand for [[coffin]] manufacture in China, due to the scent of the wood and its decay resistance. It is likely that past [[over-exploitation]] is responsible for their current rarity.

Incense cedar was the preferred [[Bow drill|hearth board]] of the Native Peoples of [[Northern California]] for [[Firelighting|lighting fires]] by friction.

===Cultivation===
''Calocedrus decurrens'', the California incense cedar, is a popular [[ornamental tree]], grown particularly in locations with cool summer climates like [[United Kingdom|Britain]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[British Columbia]]. Its very narrow columnar crown in landscape settings, an unexplained consequence of the climatic conditions in these areas, is not shown by trees in their native 'wild' [[habitat]]. The California incense cedar is also valued for its [[drought]] tolerance. The Asian species are rarely cultivated.<ref>Munz, P. A. 1974. Flora of Southern California 1–1086. University of California Press, Berkeley.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.pinetum.org/cones/CUcones.htm Arboretum de Villardebelle - cone photos]
* {{Gymnosperm Database |family=Cupressaceae |genus=Calocedrus |link=1}}

{{Woodworking}}
{{Acrogymnospermae classification}}
{{Cupressaceae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q765246}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calocedrus Decurrens}}
[[Category:Calocedrus| ]]
[[Category:Trees of Northern America]]
[[Category:Trees of China]]
[[Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)]]
[[Category:Garden plants of North America]]
[[Category:Drought-tolerant plants]]
[[Category:Conifer genera]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Wilhelm Sulpiz Kurz]]