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 labled 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.
my samples:
both sides and both ends of a white cedar sample
end grain closeup of the piece directly above
both sides of a sample plank of deodar cedar --- 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.
end grain and end grain closeup of the piece 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
both sides of a Northern white cedar (T. occidentali) sample plank,one side of which is all sapwood
end grain and end grain closeup of the sample plank 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
planks shot at LOWES and listed as just "cedar"
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 subspecies of cedar, but I don't know what subspecies that is
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: Librocedrus 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 correspondant.
Argentine rose cedar plank
plank listed as Atlantic cedar / Cedrus atlantica and with wet and dry sections
Australian white cedar
white cedar, plank and turning block
Alaskan cedar plank --- I don't find the brilliant yellow believable
plank and closeup listed as Cedrella odorata
plank and closeup listed as Cedrella odorata
northern white cedar
"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 subspecies 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 correspondant 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.
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