Cedrus libani
Cedrus libani, commonly known as cedar of Lebanon, Lebanon cedar, or Lebanese cedar, is a species of large evergreen conifer in the genus Cedrus, which belongs to the pine family and is native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. Known for its longevity, height, and durable wood, it has held profound significance for millennia. The tree features in ancient Mesopotamian and Israelite literature, notably in the Hebrew Bible, according to which the tree was used in the construction of the Jerusalem Temple by Solomon, who received the trees from Hiram of Tyre. Today, it is the national emblem of Lebanon and is widely used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.
Description
Cedrus libani can reach in height, with a massive monopodial columnar trunk up to in diameter. The trunks of old, open-grown trees often fork into several large, erect branches. The rough and scaly bark is dark grey to blackish brown, and is run through by deep, horizontal fissures that peel in small chips. The first-order branches are ascending in young trees; they grow to a massive size and take on a horizontal, wide-spreading disposition. Second-order branches are dense and grow in a horizontal plane. The crown is conical when young, becoming broadly tabular with age with fairly level branches; trees growing in dense forests maintain more conical shape.Shoots and leaves
The shoots are dimorphic, with both long and short shoots. New shoots are pale brown, older shoots turn grey, grooved and scaly. C. libani has slightly resinous ovoid vegetative buds measuring long and wide enclosed by pale brown deciduous scales. The leaves are needle-like, arranged in spirals and concentrated at the proximal end of the long shoots, and in clusters of 15–35 on the short shoots; they are long and wide, rhombic in cross-section, and vary from light green to glaucous green with stomatal bands on all four sides.Cones
Cedrus libani produces cones beginning at around the age of 20–40. Its cones are borne in autumn, the male cones appear in early September and the female ones in late September. Male cones occur at the ends of the short shoots; they are solitary and erect about long and mature from pale green to pale yellow-brown. The female seed cones also grow at the terminal ends of short shoots. The young seed cones are resinous, sessile, and pale green; they require 12 months after pollination to mature. The mature, woody cones are long and wide; they are scaly, resinous, ovoid or barrel-shaped, and green ripening to grey-brown the autumn after pollination. Mature cones open from top to bottom, they disintegrate and lose their seed scales, releasing the seeds until only the cone rachis remains attached to the branches.The seed scales are thin, broad, and coriaceous, measuring long and wide. The seeds are ovoid, long and wide, attached to a light brown wedge-shaped wing that is long and wide. C. libani grows rapidly until the age of 45 to 50 years; growth becomes extremely slow after the age of 70.
Taxonomy
Cedrus is the Latin name for true cedars. The specific epithet refers to the Lebanon mountain range where the species was first described by French botanist Achille Richard; the tree is commonly known as the Lebanon cedar or cedar of Lebanon. Two to three distinct types are accepted as varieties: C. libani var. libani, C. libani var. brevifolia, and C. libani var. stenocoma; the last not being considered distinct by all authorities.C. libani var. libani: Lebanon cedar, cedar of Lebanon – grows in Lebanon, western Syria, and south-central Turkey. C. libani var. stenocoma, considered a subspecies in earlier literature, is now considered as a variety or ecotype of C. libani var. libani. It usually has a spreading crown that does not flatten. This distinct morphology is a habit that is assumed to cope with the competitive environment, since the tree occurs in dense stands mixed with the tall-growing Abies cilicica, or in pure stands of young cedar trees. Isozyme analysis however placed var. stenocoma closer to var. brevifolia than to var. libani, even placing var. brevifolia embedded within var. stenocoma samples.
C. libani var. brevifolia: The Cyprus cedar occurs on the island's Troodos Mountains. This taxon was considered a separate species from C. libani because of morphological and ecophysiological trait differences. It is characterised by slow growth, shorter needles, and higher tolerance to drought and aphids. Genetic relationship studies, however, did not separate C. brevifolia as a separate species, the markers being indistinguishable from those of C. libani.
Distribution and habitat
C. libani var. libani is endemic to elevated mountains around the Eastern Mediterranean in Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey. The tree grows in well-drained calcareous lithosols on rocky, north- and west-facing slopes and ridges and thrives in rich loam or a sandy clay in full sun. Its natural habitat is characterised by warm, dry summers and cool, moist winters with an annual precipitation of ; the trees are blanketed by a heavy snow cover at the higher elevations. In Lebanon and Turkey, it occurs most abundantly at elevations of, where it forms pure forests or mixed forests with Cilician fir, European black pine, Turkish pine, and several juniper species. In Turkey, it can occur as low as.C. libani var. brevifolia grows in similar conditions in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus at medium to high elevations ranging from.
History and symbolism
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest great works of literature, the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu travel to the legendary Cedar Forest to kill its guardian and cut down its trees. While early versions of the story place the forest in Iran, later Babylonian accounts of the story place the Cedar Forest in Lebanon.File:085.Cedars_Are_Cut_Down_for_the_Jerusalem_Temple.jpg|thumb|Cedars of Lebanon felled for use in the Jerusalem Temple, illustration by Gustave Doré
The Lebanon cedar is mentioned several times in the Bible. Hebrew priests were ordered by Moses to use the bark of the Lebanon cedar in the treatment of leprosy. Solomon also procured cedar timber to build the Temple in Jerusalem. The Hebrew prophet Isaiah used the Lebanon cedar as examples of loftiness as a metaphor for the pride of the world and in Psalm 92:12 it says "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon".
According to a rabbinic legend found in the Talmud, the cedar of Lebanon appears symbolically in Yohanan ben Zakkai's meeting with the Roman general Vespasian during the First Jewish–Roman War. As the story goes, when ben Zakkai secretly fled the besieged Jerusalem to negotiate with Vespasian, he prophesied the general's rise to the imperial throne by citing a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah: "And the Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one". In this interpretation, "Lebanon" is understood to represent the Temple in Jerusalem, which was built using cedars from Lebanon, and the "mighty one" is Vespasian, implying that his destruction of the Temple would signal his ascent as emperor.
National and regional significance
The Lebanon cedar is the national emblem of Lebanon, and is displayed on the flag of Lebanon and coat of arms of Lebanon. It is also the logo of Middle East Airlines, which is Lebanon's national carrier. Beyond that, it is also the main symbol of Lebanon's "Cedar Revolution" of 2005, the 17 October Revolution, also known as the Thawra along with many Lebanese political parties and movements, such as the Lebanese Forces. Finally, Lebanon is sometimes metonymically referred to as the Land of the Cedars.Cultivation
Cultivation of Lebanon cedar dates back at least 3,200 years, when the Hittite Empire established two populations of the species in northern Turkey where it did not occur naturally.The Lebanon cedar is now widely planted as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.
The first Lebanon cedars in Britain were introduced by Edward Pococke, who collected seed in 1638–39 while based in Syria as chaplain to the Turkey Company; on his return to Britain, he was given the living of Childrey; a tree he planted at the Rectory there in 1646 is the oldest surviving specimen in Britain. Most other very early-planted trees in Britain were killed in an unusually severe winter in 1739–1740, but one planted at Peper Harow in Surrey in 1735 also survives. In Ireland, one at Adare Manor in County Limerick, thought to have been planted in 1645, may also be from Pococke's original import, but this is not verified. The species is mentioned in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-Trees and the Propagation of Timber by John Evelyn. In Britain, cedars of Lebanon are known for their use in London's Highgate Cemetery and Blenheim Palace.
C. libani has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Arkansas, among other US states, has a Champion Tree program that records exceptional tree specimens. A Lebanon cedar listed by the state is located inside Hot Springs National Park and is estimated to be over 100 years old.