incense cedar

American  

[in-sens see-der] / ˈɪn sɛns ˌsi dər /

noun

1. a tree of the cypress family’s genus Calocedrus, especially C. decurrens California incense cedar of western North America, which may grow to more than 190 feet (58 meters) in height.

2. the aromatic, close-grained wood of this tree, used to make pencils, chests, closet linings, etc.

3. Chilean cedar.

---

Etymology

Origin of incense cedar

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

The remainder were sugar pine, noble fir, red fir, incense cedar, western red cedar, mountain hemlock and western hemlock.

From Science Daily • Dec. 28, 2023

I had to content myself with watching a YouTube video featuring another of Stenmo’s favorite trees, an incense cedar that he loves to eat lunch with his back against as he listens to woodpeckers.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 1, 2023

As she trudged past the remnant of a felled incense cedar, Cicely Muldoon, the superintendent of the park, acknowledged that the notion of cutting trees in Yosemite could be hard to explain to the public.

From New York Times • Jul. 27, 2022

“Fortunately, there are many alternative tree species, including Oregon white oak, incense cedar and Chinese pistache, that might be more heat and drought resistant than ash.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 11, 2022

Some species attack living trees, sometimes killing them, or making them hollow, or in the case of pecky cypress and incense cedar filling the wood with galleries like those of boring insects.

From The Mechanical Properties of Wood Including a Discussion of the Factors Affecting the Mechanical Properties, and Methods of Timber Testing by Record, Samuel J.