Red Cedar

About

Colonial timber-getters called it "red gold" for its prized cabinet timber, and 19th-century logging was so intensive that large wild red cedars are now essentially commercially extinct. Surviving specimens are landmark trees — Washpool NP protects extraordinary specimens of giant red cedar, and both Border Ranges and Dorrigo name walking tracks after the species.

How to spot it

One of Australia's few native deciduous trees, dropping leaves in autumn and flushing reddish-pink new growth in spring. Long compound leaves to 90cm with 10-14 pairs of leaflets; small white tubular flowers give way to star-shaped brown seed capsules.

Found in

• Washpool National Park
• Border Ranges National Park
• Dorrigo National Park
• Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
• Mapleton Falls National Park