white cedar

white cedar, in the lumber trade, any American arborvitae (q.v.), some species of false cypress (q.v.), and McNab cypress, incense cedar (q.v.), and California juniper. Nonconiferous trees that are called white cedar include the chinaberry and some members of the flowering plant families Bignoniaceae, Celastraceae, Myristicaceae, Burseraceae, and Dipterocarpaceae.