DEODAR CEDAR TREES HISTORY
Cedrus
deodara
Deodar Cedar
This is the most refined, graceful and soft-textured cedar. Lower branches sweep to the ground, while upper branches are evenly spaced. The needles grow in typical cedar clusters but are a soft, light green color. The fastest growing of the cedars, its drooping tip makes it recognizable on the skyline. Deodars are native to the Himalayas. They are frequently planted in Western States.
Cedar, common name for a number of trees, mostly coniferous evergreens. The true cedars belong to the small genus Cedrus of the family Pinaceae (pine family). All are native to the Old World from the Mediterranean to the Himalayas, although several are cultivated elsewhere as ornamentals. Frequently mentioned in the Bible, the wood used in building the Temple and the house of Solomon (1 Kings 5, 6, and 7) may have been that of the deodar cedar (C. deodara), native to the Himalayas. It has fragrant wood, durable and fine grained, and is venerated by the Hindus, who call it Tree of God.
Deodars grow well in the Western United States so far from their Himalayan homeland. 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 or being used as beautiful Christmas Trees.
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