Rain falls lightly to the forest floor as I sit in my tree stand anticipating the arrival of deer. Snug and warm, not one rain drop penetrates the canopy of white cedar above me. Cedar trees are one of my favorite trees to hunt from-either from a tree stand or on the ground. The Northern White-cedar, with its scale-like greenish-yellow leaves is abundant throughout most of Michigan's upper peninsula, and very common in most of the northern-lower. It's leaves, when crushed, give off a wonderful aroma, which helps hide any odor I may be giving off. From a distance, my green camo blends perfectly with the tree's mottled appearance.

To learn more about the white-cedar, I looked it up in my book Michigan Trees, by Barnes and Wagner. I learned some interesting things about my favorite tree. The Northern White-cedar is found in a variety of habitats. It grows well in cold, poorly drained swamps with moving water, or in upland areas with a very high water table. It thrives in swamps with a neutral, non-acid soil and will form nearly impenetrable, pure stands in such areas. It shares its habitat with the black ash, balsam poplar, speckled alder, trembling aspen, and red maple. The roots, which grow very shallow and spreading, often protrude above the ground. Because of the shallow root system, when the trees grow tall, they are prone to tipping over. The tipped-over trees actually serve a purpose. The tree is capable of reproducing vegetatively. As the tree lays on the ground, its branches will begin to grow upright and take root. A row of trees will form along the trunk of a fallen tree. Fallen trees also provide shelter and food for deer. White-cedar is one of the deer's most important winter foods. When large trees fall over, the root system also makes a great ground blind. I've hidden behind such a root cavity and had deer walk past me within 12 feet.

Pure stands of white-cedar are often found in areas that were established following a fire. The area I hunt is dotted with remnants of burned-out cedar stumps, some of which were almost 3 feet in diameter. Every time I see one of those stumps, I try to imagine the area covered with majestic, towering virgin white-cedar. How big do these trees get? Well, 20 years ago, Michigan's big tree was over 111 feet tall, 5 ¾ feet in diameter, and almost 18 feet around. It was located in Leelanau County. Some day I'm going to see if it's still around.