Accession Count: 0
Common Name:
cedar of lebanon
Family Name:
Pinaceae
Botanical Name:
Cedrus libani
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
Evergreen with purple-brown upturned cones.
Compound:
Ced lib
Geographic Origin:
Mediterranean
Ecozone Origin:
Palearctic
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
Cedrus libani is native to Asia Minor. It still grows in sparse stands in the mountains of Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. C. libani grows between 1300 and 2100m in altitude and prefers full sun and calciferous soil (1,3).
Cultivation Notes:
C. libani is particularly difficult to cultivate. The conditions of the plant’s native range and habitat are hard to replicate to such a degree that the plant will grow vigorously. However, there are significant efforts to protect native stands and encourage the growth of new trees by designating areas in which these trees grow as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is through the efforts of groups like this that the cultivation and protection of C. libani continues (3,4).
Ethnobotany:
C. libani has been used by humans since ancient times. Records from the ancient kingdom of Sumer tell of the warrior-king Gilgamesh building his city out of cedar wood. The intense cultivation of this plant has lead to significant efforts to protect it. Records of attempts to protect and ensure the cultivation of C. libani go as far back as when the Roman emperor Hadrian designated the native range of C. libani to be a national administrative zone where the harvesting of wood from the trees was made illegal. Again, prior to WWI an effort was made by Queen Elizabeth to protect stands of C. libani in Syria by erecting large walls around protected groves of young trees. Unfortunately, to the detriment of stands in its native range, the wood from C. libani was used during WWI in the construction of railroads by both the allied and axis forces, an example of the longstanding tradition of cultivation of this plant (1,4).
Height:
20 - 50 feet
Width:
20 - 50 feet
Growth Rate:
Slow Growing
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Color:
Function:
Shade
Spread:
Non-spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
Citations:
4. Sandars, N.K. (1972).
The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Version, with an Introduction. Harmondsworth: Penguin. Print.
