Aromatic Red Cedar

Aromatic Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)

Common Name(s): Aromatic Red Cedar, Eastern Redcedar

Scientific Name: Juniperus virginiana

Distribution: Eastern North America

Tree Size: 100-115 ft (30-35 m) tall, 3-4 ft (1-1.2 m) trunk diameter

Average Dried Weight: 33 lbs/ft³ (535 kg/m³)

Basic Specific Gravity: .44

Hardness: 900 lb_f (4,000 N)

Bending Strength: 8,800 lb_f/in² (60,690 kPa)

Elasticity: 880,000 lb_f/in² (6,070 MPa)

Shrinkage: Radial: 3.1%, Tangential: 4.7%, Volumetric: 7.8%, T/R Ratio: 1.5

Color/Appearance: Heartwood tends to be a reddish or violet-brown. Sapwood is a pale yellow color, and can be appear throughout the heartwood as streaks and stripes.

Grain/Pore: Has a straight grain, usually with knots present. Has a very fine texture with closed pores.

Durability: Regarded as excellent in resistance to both decay and insect attack, Aromatic Red Cedar is frequently used for fence posts used in direct ground contact with no pre-treating of the wood.

Workability: Overall, Aromatic Red Cedar is easy to work, notwithstanding any knots or irregularities present in the wood. It reportedly has a high silica content, which can dull cutters. Aromatic Red Cedar glues and finishes well, though in many applications, the wood is left unfinished to preserve its aromatic properties.

Smell: Aromatic Red Cedar has a distinct and tell-tale scent: the wood is commonly used in closets and chests to repel moths and other insects.

Safety: Although severe reactions are quite uncommon, Aromatic Red Cedar has been reported to cause skin and respiratory irritation. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

Price Range: Large and/or clear sections of Aromatic Red Cedar are much less common, but smaller, narrower boards with knots present are readily available at a modest price.

Comments: Although commonly referred to as “cedar,” Aromatic Red Cedar technically isn’t considered a true cedar, and is classified in the genus Juniperus, among the junipers. In tree form, it is more commonly called Eastern Redcedar, while the wood itself is usually referred to as Aromatic Red Cedar.

Though Eastern Redcedar trees are widely distributed throughout the eastern half of the United States, it is a very slow-growing species, and most trees harvested tend to be fairly small in diameter. Because of this, Aromatic Red Cedar boards tend to be knotty and narrow.

Some common uses for Aromatic Red Cedar include: fence posts, closet and chest linings, carvings, outdoor furniture, pencils, bows, and small wooden specialty items.

Related Species:

African Juniper (Juniperus procera)

Alligator Juniper (Juniperus deppeana)

Southern Redcedar (Juniperus silicicola)

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