''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, is a genus of

conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...

ous trees in the plant family Pinaceae (subfamily Abietoideae). They are

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to the mountains of the western Himalayas and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalayas and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books .

Description

''Cedrus'' trees can grow up to 30–40 m (occasionally 60 m) tall with spicy-resinous scented wood, thick ridged or square-cracked

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, ...

, and broad, level branches. The shoots are dimorphic and are made up of long shoots, which form the framework of the branches, and short shoots, which carry most of the leaves. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

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 two or three resin blisters, containing an unpleasant-tasting resin, thought to be a defence against

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

predation. Cone maturation takes one year, with pollination in autumn and the seeds maturing the same time a year later. The

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

cones are slender ovoid, 3–8 cm long, produced in late summer, and shedding pollen in autumn.Frankis, M. & Lauria, F. (1994). The maturation and dispersal of cedar cones and seeds. ''International Dendrology Society Yearbook'' 1993: 43–46.

Taxonomy

Cedars share a very similar cone structure with the

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

s (''Abies'') and were traditionally thought to be most closely related to them, but molecular evidence supports a basal position in the family.Liston A., D.S. Gernandt, T.F. Vining, C.S. Campbell, D. Piñero. 2003. "Molecular Phylogeny of Pinaceae and Pinus". In Mill, R. R. (ed.): ''Proceedings of the 4th Conifer Congress. Acta Hort'' 615: pp. 107-114.Wang, X.-Q., Tank, D. C. and Sang, T. (2000): "Phylogeny and Divergence Times in Pinaceae: Evidence from Three Genomes". ''Molecular Biology and Evolution'' 17:773-781. Availabl
online

Taxa

The five taxa of ''Cedrus'' are assigned according to

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

opinion to between one and four species:Farjon, A. (2008). ''A Natural History of Conifers''. Timber Press . The oldest known fossil of ''Cedrus'' is ''Cedrus penzhinaensis'' known from fossil wood found in Early Cretaceous ( Albian) sediments of Kamchatka, Russia.

Ecology

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 and occasional winter snowfall. While no members of ''Cedrus'' are native to the Americas, members of ''Juniperus'' and

Cupressaceae Cupressaceae is a conifer family, the cypress family, with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdio ...

are native and called by the common name of "cedar". Cedars are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species including

pine processionary The pine processionary (''Thaumetopoea pityocampa'') is a moth of the subfamily Thaumetopoeinae in the family Notodontidae, known for the irritating hairs of its caterpillars, their processions, and the economic damage they cause in coniferous ...

and turnip moth (recorded on deodar cedar).

Use

Cedars are very popular

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

s, and are often cultivated in temperate climates where winter temperatures do not fall below circa −25 °C. The Turkish cedar is slightly hardier, to −30 °C or just below. Extensive mortality of planted specimens can occur in severe winters when temperatures fall lower.Ødum, S. (1985). "Report on frost damage to trees in Denmark after the severe 1981/82 and 1984/85 winters". Hørsholm Arboretum, Denmark. Locales with successful longaeval cultivation include the Mediterranean region, western Europe north to the British Isles, southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and New Zealand, and southern and western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Cedar wood and

cedarwood oil Cedar oil, also known as cedarwood oil, is an essential oil derived from various types of conifers, most in the pine or cypress botanical families. It is produced from the foliage, and sometimes the wood, roots, and stumps left after logging o ...

are natural repellents to moths, hence cedar is a popular lining for cedar chests and 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 went to fetch treasures to be used as ransom. The ancients made cedarwood oil from Lebanon cedar, a true cedar of the genus ''Cedrus'', However, the species used for modern cedar chests and closets in North America is '' Juniperus virginiana'', and cedarwood oil is now typically derived from various junipers and

cypresses Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the la ...

(of the family ''

''). Cedar is also commonly used to make

shoe trees A shoe tree is a device approximating the shape of a foot that is placed inside a shoe to preserve its shape, stop it from developing creases, and thereby extend the life of the shoe. Perhaps more important than maintaining the shape, shoe trees ...

because it can absorb moisture and deodorize. Many species of cedar are suitable for training as

bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

. They work well for many styles, including formal and informal upright, slanting, and cascading.

Nomenclature

Some authorities consider ''Cedrus'' the only "true cedars" and discourage use of the name for other genera without an additional qualifier, such as "white-cedar".Kelsey, H. P., & Dayton, W. A. (1942). ''Standardized Plant Names'', second edition. American Joint Committee on Horticultural Nomenclature. Horace McFarland Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, the name "cedar" has been applied (since about 1700) to other trees, such as the North American '' Thuja plicata'', commonly called "western red cedar", and '' Juniperus virginiana'', commonly called "red cedar" or "eastern red cedar". In some cases, the botanical name alludes to this usage, such as the genus '' Calocedrus'', meaning "beautiful cedar" (also known as "incense cedar"). Several species of genera '' Calocedrus'', '' Thuja'', and ''

Chamaecyparis ''Chamaecyparis'', common names cypress or false cypress (to distinguish it from related cypresses), is a genus of conifers in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to eastern Asia (Japan and Taiwan) and to the western and eastern margins of th ...

'' in the Pacific Northwest having similarly aromatic wood are referred to as "false cedars" .

Etymology

Both the Latin word ''cedrus'' and the generic name ''cedrus'' are derived from Greek κέδρος ''kédros''. Ancient Greek and Latin used the same word, ''kédros'' and ''cedrus'', respectively, for different species of plants now classified in the genera ''Cedrus'' and ''Juniperus'' (

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

). Species of both genera are native to the area where Greek language and culture originated, though as the word ''kédros'' 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.Meiggs, R. 1982. Trees and Timber in the Ancient Mediterranean World. The name was similarly applied to citron and the word citrus is derived from the same root.Andrews, A. C. 1961. Acclimatization of citrus fruits in the Mediterranean region. ''Agricultural History'' 35: 35–46. However, as a loan word in English, cedar had become fixed to its

biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

sense of ''Cedrus'' by the time of its first recorded usage in AD 1000.'' Oxford English Dictionary''.

References

External links

Cedar of Meudon
A tree in Meudon near Paris, France that has fascinated people through time {{Authority control Conifer genera Ornamental trees Plants used in bonsai Wood