Deodar Cedar
Embedded Files
Pinaceae
Cedrus deodara
Specimen Size: 89.9ft tall, 36.3in in diameter.
Location and summary: These evergreens line Stevens Way and appear in many other places around campus and within the city. Some of the best examples on campus may be found in front of the Brockman Memorial Tree Tour Bus Shelter. This is a true cedar, not to be confused with the Western red-cedar of the Pacific Northwest which is a native false cedar and looks exceedingly different.
Historical Background: Among Hindus, Deodar Cedars are regarded as divine trees. The name Deodar derives from the Sanskrit term devadāru, meaning “wood of the gods”. The wood is highly prized as building material because of its fine, close grain and rot-resistant properties.
Non-Native
Native Range: Western Himalayas
Identifying Features: This coniferous evergreen generally has long swooping branches of a dark blue green. Needles appear in tight clusters on spurs originating along the branch. Cones are roughly fist size and rise erect on the branches, where when ripe they open while still on the tree spreading their scales and winged seeds. The trunk generally grows straight and up to a significant diameter of about 3 feet. Bark is gray and furrowed, becoming browner with age.
Identifying Features In Depth:
Form: Straight trunk rising to a regular pyramidal crown with drooping tip and drooping branches sloping gracefully downward towards the base. Crown is generally more broad and conic than the related Atlas Cedar.
Leaves: Needles of dark blue green (light green when new growth) grow in distinctive clusters of 10 to 20 in spurs along the branch. Generally 2.5 to 5 cm in length, 3 angled.
Bark: Initially a smoother gray, becoming a dark brown and deeply furrowed as it ages.
Reproductive Bodies: Produces reddish brown rounded elliptical cones which stand erect with very little stalk. Composed of hard scales they grow from 7.5 to 10cm in length, mature in two years and remain attached as they release broad winged seeds. Scales are slightly ridged (unlike the smooth scales of a Cedar of Lebanon).
Native Range of Cedrus deodara in the Himalayan Mountains.
Below is the description found for this species on the original Brockman Memorial Tree Tour:
Historical Tree Tour Information (As this tree appeared on the original tree tour): Stevens Way is lined by dozens of these graceful evergreens, which excel in Seattle's soil and climate, so far from their Himalayan homeland. Unlike our native cedar these bear sharp 1- to 2-inch (3- to 5-centimeter) needles ranging in color from bright green to powdery blue-green in dense clusters of 20-30 needles per shoot. The erect, fist-sized cones (produced only by female and bisexual trees) shatter to pieces while still on the tree in spring when the seeds ripen. In the spring the male cones release clouds of yellow pollen into the wind.
Deodar Cedars unite the relaxed, drooping posture of hemlocks and the massive horizontal sturdiness of certain pines, whether yielding valuable wood in Indian forests or graciously decorating our landscapes. Among Hindus, Deodar Cedars are regarded as divine trees. The name Deodar derives from the Sanskrit term devadāru, meaning “wood of the gods”. The wood is highly prized as building material because of its fine, close grain and rot-resistant properties. If the lower branches are pruned, Deodar Cedars are used as street trees in urban areas because they can tolerate compacted, poor soils. Compare Deodar with its congeners: Atlas Cedar and Cedar of Lebanon.
Page updated
Report abuse