is easily worked and holds paint well, and the heartwood is
highly resistant to decay. Because of its high durability it is
used for poles, posts, cabin logs, railroad crossties, lumber,
shingles, decorative fencing, boats, and water tanks.
White-Cedar, Northern
Northern white-cedar
(Thuja occidentalis) is
also known as eastern
white-cedar or arborvi-
tae. It grows from Maine
along the Appalachians
and westward through the
northern part of the Great
Lake States. Production
of northern white-cedar lumber is greatest in Maine and the
Great Lake States.
The heartwood of Northern white-cedar is light brown,
and the sapwood is nearly white and is usually narrow. The
wood is lightweight, rather soft, low in strength and shock
resistance, and with low shrinkage upon drying. It is easily
worked and the heartwood is very decay resistant. Northern
white-cedar is used for poles and posts, outdoor furniture,
shingles, cabin logs, lumber, water tanks, boats and for
wooden ware.
Yellow-Cedar
Yellow-cedar (Chamaecy‑
paris nootkatensis) grows
in the Pacific Coast re-
gion of North America
from southeastern Alaska
southward through
Washington to southern
Oregon.
The heartwood of yellow-cedar is bright, clear yellow. The
sapwood is narrow, white to yellowish, and hardly distin-
guishable from the heartwood. The wood is fine textured
and generally straight grained. It is moderately heavy,
moderately strong and stiff, moderately hard, and moder-
ately high in shock resistance. Yellow-cedar shrinks little in
drying and is stable after drying, and the heartwood is very
resistant to decay. The wood has a mild, distinctive odor.
Yellow-cedar is used for interior woodwork, furniture,
small boats, cabinetwork, and novelties.Imported Woods
This section includes many of the species that at present
are considered to be commercially important, but by no
means can it be considered all-inclusive. The import timber
market is constantly changing, with some species no longer
available but with new species entering the market. The
same species may be marketed in the United States under
other common names. Because of the variation in commondistinct taste or odor. It is moderately lightweight, moder-
ately low in bending and compressive strength, moderately
stiff, moderately soft, and moderately low in resistance to
shock. It has moderately low shrinkage. On the basis of
weight, Sitka spruce rates high in strength properties and
can be obtained in long, clear, straight-grained pieces.
Sitka spruce is used principally for lumber, pulpwood, and
cooperage. Boxes and crates account for a considerable
amount of the remanufactured lumber. Other important uses
are furniture, planing-mill products, sashes, doors, blinds,
millwork, and boats. Sitka spruce has been by far the most
important wood for aircraft construction. Other specialty
uses are ladder rails and sounding boards for pianos.
Tamarack
Tamarack (Larix larici‑
na), also known as
eastern larch and locally
as hackmatack, is a
small to medium tree
with a straight, round,
slightly tapered trunk.
It grows from Maine to
Minnesota, with the bulk of the stand in the Great Lake
States.
The heartwood of tamarack is yellowish brown to russet
brown. The sapwood is whitish, generally less than 3 cm
(1 in.) wide. The wood is coarse in texture, without odor
or taste, and the transition from earlywood to latewood is
abrupt. The wood is intermediate in weight and in most
mechanical properties.
Tamarack is used principally for pulpwood, lumber, rail-
road crossties, mine timbers, fuel, fence posts, and poles.
Lumber is used for framing material, tank construction, and
boxes, pallets, and crates. The production of tamarack lum-
ber has declined in recent years.
White-Cedar, Atlantic
Atlantic white-cedar
(Chamaecyparis thy‑
oides), also known as
southern white-cedar,
swamp-cedar and boat-
cedar, grows near the At-
lantic Coast from Maine
to northern Florida and
westward along the Gulf
Coast to Louisiana. It is strictly a swamp tree. Production
of Atlantic white-cedar centers in North Carolina and along
the Gulf Coast.
The heartwood of Atlantic white-cedar is light brown, and
the sapwood is white or nearly so. The sapwood is usually
narrow. The wood is lightweight, rather soft, and low in
strength and shock resistance. It shrinks little in drying. It
General Technical Report FPL–GTR– 190