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Timbers - Cedar
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English name, Cedar of Lebanon. Atlas cedar.
Remarks, This is the true Cedar, not the Western-Redcedar.
Family, Pinaceae.
Genus, Cedrus.
Species, Cedrus libani.Cedrus atlantica.
Age, Up to 900 years.
Height, Cedar of Lebanon 40m. Atlas Cedar 35-40m.
Tree shape, Cedar of Lebanon, broadly columnar. Atlas Cedar broadly conical.
Leaf Type, Evergreen.
Leaves shape, Cedar of Lebanon needle like 3cm. Atlas Cedar needle like slender 2cm.
Flowering, September to October.
Flower colour, Cedar of Lebanon blue male/green female. Atlas Cedar yellow male/green female.
Fruit, Cedar of Lebanon, a barrel shaped, upright cone, to 12cm long, purple-green ripening to brown. Atlas Cedar, a barrel shaped upright cone, to 7.5cm long, green-purple when young becoming purple brown ripening to brown, ripe in 2-3 years, breaking up before falling.
Bark, Cedar of Lebanon dark grey cracking in to vertical plates. Atlas Cedar dark grey fissured into scaly plates.
Native region, Cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon and SW Turkey. Atlas Cedar, Atlas mountain North Africa
Natural habitat, Cedar of Lebanon Mountain forests. Atlas Cedar Forests. Altitudes up to 2,000m.
Weight, 580kg/m3.
Maturity, 25-30 years.
Soil type, Chalky.
Wood type, Softwood.
Timber colour, Brown/yellow.
Durability, Durable. (1 very durable, 2 durable, 3 moderately durable, 4 slightly durable, 5 not durable).
Treatable, Difficult.(Easy, moderate easy, difficult, extremely difficult).
Moisturise movement, Medium.
Environmental, Not listed as an endangered species.
Availability, Limited availability, specialist timber merchants.
Cost, High.
Chemical properties, Very strong Cedar odour.
Drying, Dries easily, but with a tendency to warp.
Working qualities, Easy to work with, easy on cutting edge tools. A good finish can be acquired. The timber can take paints and varnish well.
To Europe, 1839.
Uses, Timber was used in the ancient world by various cultures, the Phoenicians used it to build their commercial and military ships, also houses, palaces and temples. The Egyptians used the resin and saw dust in mummification. One of the most famous uses for the timber was in the construction of King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. It is now an extremely rare timber to acquire in quantities, due to large amounts being felled in the 1900's to be used for railways sleepers. It is mainly used in veneers now.
Information, In it's home land of Lebanon (and Mediterranean area in general) the Cedar has been so overly exploited, that now there are only small amounts of original forests surviving. So much so that an extensive reforestation programme is being carried out in the region where in excess of 50 million trees are planted yearly. This, with new protection laws are helping the come back of the Cedar
The Cedar is used in the middle of the National Flag of Lebanon, and is also the National Emblem.
Mainly as ornamental trees in parks or gardens or avenues.
Although the Western Red Cedar shares a common name with the cedar the two trees are confusingly not related . The Latin names show they belong to different family’s
Cedar of Lebanon, Pinaceae Cedrus libani. The Cedar of Lebanon is more closely related to Pine trees, and is at home in dry arid weather conditions
Western Red Cedar, Cupressaceae Thuja plicata. The Western Red Cedar is is more closely related to Juniper or Cypress tree and grows on the other side of the world, and is more at home in damp weather conditions.
