Eastern White Cedar - Thuja occidentalis
Eastern white cedar, Thuja occidentalis, AKA arborvitae, or northern white cedar is an evergreen, coniferous tree native to the Northeastern United States and Canada. It is widely grown as an ornamental.
It has a nutritious inner bark and has been used for saunas and tea. It is used to reduce fevers, rheumatic symptoms, chest colds and the flu, headache, sprains, and coughs.
It is high in vitamin C and many other phytochemicals such as alpha-pinene, alpha-fenchene, camphene, sabinene, beta-myrcene, limonene, alpha-fenchone, alpha-thujone, beta-thujone, camphor and bornyl acetate. These substances have antiviral, antiseptic, antibiotic, and antifungal properties.
It makes a nutritious tea and if you cover your tea while it steeps the pleasant aromatic oils will not escape. Its volatile oils can be toxic in large doses so eating the leaves and branches is not a good idea. It should not be used by pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose or treat any illness.
The following citation is a paper you can search for that goes into great detail about the chemical composition and medicinal properties of Eastern white cedar. 1
1 Caruntu, Sonia, Alina Ciceu, Neli Kinga Olah, Ioan Don, Anca Hermenean, and Coralia Cotoraci. 2020. "Thuja occidentalis L. (Cupressaceae): Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Biological Activity" Molecules 25, no. 22: 5416. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25225416