Dies ist eine alte Version des Dokuments!
Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don - syn. Thuja gigantea Nutt. - Cupressaceae
western red cedar, Pacific red cedar, giant cedar, canoe cedar, western arborvitae, giant arborvitae, Riesen-Lebensbaum
Evergreen tree, up to 50(-75)m tall, native to western North America; bark reddish brown or grayish brown, fibrous, fissured; crown conical; branches arching; branchlets pendulous; leaves on upper side of branchlets glossy green, lateral leaves longer than facial leaves; pollen cones reddish, 1-3mm, seed cones brown, ellipsoid, 1-1.4cm; seeds reddish-brown, 4-7.5mm (including wings). http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200005457
„Western redcedar has an extensive history of use by the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, from Oregon to southeast Alaska. Some northwest coast tribes refer to themselves as „people of the redcedar“ because of their extensive dependence on the tree for basic materials.“ Western red cedar (wood cuttings, saw dust) is highly allergenic and 5% of woodworkers or loggers who work with it may have adverse reactions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuja_plicata
The major constituent of the volatile oil of western red cedar leaves was found to be l-thujone accompanied by d-isothujone (~10%). Main hydrocarbons were d-sabinene and car-4-ene. „Smaller amounts of d-α-pinene, d-limonene, d-terpinen-4-ol and an unidentified aromatic ester were also isolated. Trace amounts of α-fenchene, camphene, γ-terpinene, terpinolene, p-cymene and 1,8-cineole were identified by retention characteristics only. The presence of thujyl alcohol and its acetate could not be confirmed.“
[Gas-liquid chromatography of terpenes VI. The volatile oil of Thuja plicata Donn., Von Rudloff, E., Phytochemistry, 1(3), 1962, 195-202]
Plicatic acid is the major component of the heartwood extractive of western red cedar and responsible for bronchoconstriction (accompanied by increased levels of histamine and leukotriene E4 in bronchial mucosa) in patients with red cedar asthma.
[Histamine and leukotrienes release in bronchoalveolar fluid during plicatic acid-induced bronchoconstriction., Chan-Yeung, M., Chan, H., Tse, K.S., Salari, H., Lam, S., Journal of allergy and clinical immunology, 84(5), 1989, 762-768]
Giant Arbor vitae, Dallimore,W., Bruce,A., A handbook of Coniferae, p.519, fig.113 (1923) [G.Lister]
http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=1014336