What kind of cypress is this, if at all?

[Big J]

Does anyone know what this is? Bark looks just like western red cedar bit no aroma and wood is paler.

 

Im a bit stumped!

[openspaceman]

21 minutes ago, Big J said:

Does anyone know what this is? Bark looks just like western red cedar bit no aroma and wood is paler.

 

Im a bit stumped!

Cryptomeria japonica?

[Big J]

Good thought, but unfortunately not that. The wikipedia listing states that Japanese cedar is extremely fragrant, whereas what I have isn't.

 

It's from a big batch of timber that is supposed to be western red cedar, but isn't. A bit of it is lawsons cypress, which is really easy to identify. About 70% of it is whatever this is. 

 

The logs in question have bark just like WRC, not much taper and a fairly wide and distinct sapwood band. The timber seems to be quite brittle (like WRC) as there is some minor, but frequently occurring fracturing from the harvester cutting it (often happens with cedar on longer lengths). The grain seems a little coarser than WRC, but hard to say. 

 

On the mill (we've only cut a handful of logs) it's a bit tougher than WRC with a lighter heartwood, little in the way of fragrance and some boards are peppered with tiny knots (almost like pipping in hardwoods). 

 

Any help would be gratefully received. It's not WRC, which is really annoying, but I might still be able to use it. 

[janey]

It's Cryptomeria. Ignore Wikipedia (most people do ). 

[Big J]

[Big J]

The timber in question are the logs in the middle with the clearly demarkated heartwood.

[Will Heal]

May be coast redwood, I cut one down a few weeks ago, looks very similar

 

[Big J]

I think that the foliage is different. The redwood has a flat needle whereas this (I'm going to go with popular opinion and say Japanese cedar) has very spiky, three dimensional needles.

[Lignaterrae]

100% Cryptomeria japonica.

[Big J]

Thanks for all the help folks. Japanese red cedar it is. Now to try to convince my western red cedar customers to take it!!