| Cedar | |
|---|---|
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| Lebanon Cedar in Al Shouf Cedar Nature Reserve, Barouk, Lebanon | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Cedrus Trew |
| Species | |
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Cedar (Cedrus) is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. They share a very similar cone structure with the Firs (Abies) and were traditionally thought to be most closely related to them, but molecular evidence supports a basal position in the family[1][2]. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalaya and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalaya and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean.[3]
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Cedars are trees up to 30–40 m (occasionally 60 m) tall with spicy-resinous scented wood, thick ridged or square-cracked bark, and broad, level branches. The shoots are dimorphic, with long shoots, which form the framework of the branches, and short shoots, which carry most of the leaves. The leaves are evergreen and needle-like, 8–60 mm long, arranged in an open spiral phyllotaxis on long shoots, and in dense spiral clusters of 15–45 together on short shoots; they vary from bright grass-green to dark green to strongly glaucous pale blue-green, depending on the thickness of the white wax layer which protects the leaves from desiccation. The seed cones are barrel-shaped, 6–12 cm long and 3–8 cm broad, green maturing grey-brown, and, as in Abies, disintegrate at maturity to release the winged seeds. The seeds are 10–15 mm long, with a 20–30 mm wing; as in Abies, the seeds have 2–3 resin blisters, containing an unpleasant-tasting resin, thought to be a defence against squirrel predation. Cone maturation takes one year, with pollination in autumn and the seeds maturing the same time a year later. The pollen cones are slender ovoid, 3–8 cm long, produced in late summer and shedding pollen in autumn.[3][4]
There are five taxa of Cedrus, assigned according to taxonomic opinion to two to four different species. A majority of the modern sources[5][6][7][8][3][9][10] support the four species concept:
Some sources[11] support the three species concept treating Cyprus Cedar as subspecies of Lebanon Cedar, and some others[12][13] support the two species concept treating also Atlas Cedar as subspecies of Lebanon Cedar. The Deodar Cedar is more distinct and almost universally accepted as a separate species, though very rarely, it has also been treated as a subspecies of Lebanon Cedar, C. libani subsp. deodara (Roxb.) P.D.Sell, thus regarding the genus as comprising a single species.[14]
Cedars are adapted to mountainous climates; in the Mediterranean they receive winter precipitation, mainly as snow, and summer drought, while in the western Himalaya, they receive primarily summer monsoon rainfall.[3]
Cedars are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Pine Processionary and Turnip Moth (recorded on Deodar Cedar).
Cedars are very popular ornamental trees, widely used in horticulture in temperate climates where winter temperatures do not fall below about −25 °C. The Turkish Cedar is slightly hardier, to −30 °C or just below. Extensive mortality of planted specimens can occur in severe winters where temperatures do drop lower.[15] Areas with successful long-term cultivation include the entire Mediterranean region, western Europe north to the British Isles, southern Australia and New Zealand, and southern and western North America.
They are also grown for their durable (decay-resistant) scented wood, used in products requiring resistance to weather, such as shakes and shingles. Cedar wood and cedar oil are known to be a natural repellent to moths,[16] hence cedar is a popular lining for modern-day closets in which woolens are stored. This specific use of cedar is mentioned in The Iliad (Book 24), referring to the cedar-roofed or lined storage chamber where Priam goes to fetch treasures to be used as ransom. Cedar is also commonly used to make shoe trees as it can absorb moisture and de-odorise.
Cedar is also used for the tops of musical instruments like guitars and has unique tonal qualities. It is rot repellent so it is used to make outdoor furniture and decking.
Timber of trees with similar names such as Western Red Cedar is frequently confused with genuine cedar.
The Cedar of Lebanon and to a lesser extent the Deodar have local cultural importance.
Both the Latin words cedrus and the generic name cedrus are derived from the Greek 'kedros'. Ancient Greek and Latin used the same word, kedros and cedrus respectively, for different species of plants now classified in the genera Cedrus and Juniperus (juniper). Species of both genera are native to the area where Greek language and culture originated, though as the word "kedros" does not seem to be derived from any of the languages of the Middle East, it has been suggested the word may originally have applied to Greek species of juniper and was later adopted for species now classified in the genus Cedrus because of the similarity of their aromatic woods.[17] The name was similarly applied to citron and the word citrus is derived from the same root.[18] However, as a loan word in English, cedar had become fixed to its biblical sense of Cedrus by the time of its first recorded usage in AD 1000.[19]
The name "cedar" has more recently (since about 1700[19]) been applied to many other trees with scented wood (in some cases with the botanical name alluding to this usage). Such usage is regarded by some authorities [20] as a misapplication of the name to be discouraged.
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(Heb. e'rez, Gr. kedros, Lat. cedrus), a tree very frequently mentioned in Scripture. It
was stately (Ezek 31:3-5), long-branched (Ps 8010; 92:12; Ezek 31:6-9), odoriferous (Song 4:11; Hos 14:6), durable, and therefore
much used for boards, pillars, and ceilings (1 Kg 6:9, 10; 7:2; Jer 22:14), for masts (Ezek 27:5), and for carved images
(Isa 44:14).
It grew very abundantly in Palestine, and particularly on Lebanon, of which it was "the glory" (Isa 35:2; 60:13). Hiram supplied Solomon with cedar trees from Lebanon for various purposes connected with the construction of the temple and the king's palace (2 Sam 5:11; 7:2, 7; 1 Kg 5:6, 8,10; 6:9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20; 7:2, 3, 7, 11, 12; 9:11, etc.). Cedars were used also in the building of the second temple under Zerubbabel (Ez 3:7).
Of the ancient cedars of Lebanon there remain now only some seven or eight. They are not standing together. But beside them there are found between three hundred and four hundred of younger growth. They stand in an amphitheatre fronting the west, about 6,400 feet above the level of the sea.
The cedar is often figuratively alluded to in the sacred Scriptures. "The mighty conquerors of olden days, the despots of Assyria and the Pharaohs of Egypt, the proud and idolatrous monarchs of Judah, the Hebrew commonwealth itself, the war-like Ammonites of patriarchal times, and the moral majesty of the Messianic age, are all compared to the towering cedar, in its royal loftiness and supremacy (Isa 2:13; Ezek 17:3, 22, 23, 31:3-9; Amos 2:9; Zech 11:1, 2; Job 40:17; Ps 295; 80:10; 92:12, etc).", Groser's Scrip. Nat. Hist. (See BOX-TREE �T0000636.)
what mentions this? (please help by turning references to this page into wiki links)
   | Arboretum de Villardebelle - cone photos - Arboretum de Villardebelle |
| | Arboretum de Villardebelle - Turkey - Arboretum de Villardebelle |
| | Gymnosperm Database - Cedrus - Cedrus (Cedars) Description |
| | ''Cedrus'' - The MED-CHECKLIST |
| | ''Cedrus libani'' - The MED-CHECKLIST |
| | 1911 Britannica "Cedar" - Cedar - LoveToKnow 1911 |
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