Arborvitae, Thuya Occidentalis – Canada

Arborvitae, Thuya Occidentalis – Canada = Tree of Life huja (pron.: /ˈθjuːdʒə/ THEW-jə) is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia.The genus is monophyletic and sister to Thujopsis.

They are commonly known as arborvitaes (from Latin for tree of life) or thujas; several species are widely known as cedar but because they are not true cedars (Cedrus) it has been recommended to call them redcedars or whitecedars. [Wikipedia]

Medicinal Uses

Oil of Thuja contains the terpene thujone which has been studied for its GABA receptor antagonistic, with potentially lethal properties.

The natives of Canada used the needles of Thuja occidentalis (Eastern White Cedar) to make a tea that has been shown to contain 50 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams; this helped prevent and treat scurvy.

In the 19th century Thuja was commonly used as an externally applied tincture or ointment for the treatment of warts, ringworm and thrush, and a local injection of the tincture was used for treating venereal warts.