Cedar is the name of a group of tall, evergreen, cone-bearing trees. The true cedars belong to the genus Cedrus in the pine family, Pinaceae. Examples are the deodar of the western Himalaya, the cedar of Lebanon and the Atlas cedar of North Africa. The word cedar also means the fragrant wood these trees produce.

What are the main characteristics of a cedar tree?

A true cedar is a large evergreen conifer with a pyramid shape when young and a flat top when old. Its stiff needles grow singly on long shoots and in tufts on short shoots. Its barrel-shaped cones stand upright on the branches. Its wood is light-coloured, scented and durable, especially the heartwood.

Is the deodar a true cedar?

Yes. The deodar, Cedrus deodara, belongs to the genus Cedrus, so it is a true cedar. It is also called the Himalayan cedar. It is native to the western Himalaya, in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. NCERT calls it a highly valued endemic species there and notes that its durable wood is used in construction.

Is western red cedar a true cedar?

No. Western red cedar is Thuja plicata, a member of the cypress family, Cupressaceae. True cedars belong to the genus Cedrus in the pine family. Western red cedar has tiny scale-like leaves in flat sprays instead of needles. It got the name cedar because its fragrant, decay-resistant wood resembles cedar wood.

What are the properties of cedar wood?

Deodar wood is white to light yellowish brown, straight-grained and has a typical smell and an oily feel. Its heartwood is very durable, though insects and fungi attack the outer sapwood. It weighs about 560 kg per cubic metre. These properties make it a good timber for beams, floors, doors and furniture.

Cedar Tree: Characteristics, Habitat and Uses

Cedar tree characteristics are easy to spot: true cedars are tall, evergreen conifers with stiff needles in tufts, upright barrel-shaped cones and fragrant, long-lasting wood. They grow wild in the mountains of the Mediterranean region and the western Himalaya. India’s best-known cedar is the deodar.

Cedars are part of the natural vegetation of cool mountain slopes. To see where trees like these fit among forests, grasslands, scrub and tundra, start with our guide to natural vegetation and its types. This article explains what a cedar is, how to recognise one, where cedars grow and why they matter.

What is cedar?

The word “cedar” is used in two ways. In botany, a true cedar is any tree of the genus Cedrus. In everyday speech, “cedar” is also used for several other trees with fragrant wood.

True cedars belong to the pine family, Pinaceae. They are conifers: trees that carry their seeds in woody cones instead of fruits. A deodar cone has a pair of winged seeds resting on each of its scales. Because the seeds are not enclosed in a fruit, cedars are gymnosperms. Our article on gymnosperms and angiosperms explains this difference in detail.

Three well-known true cedars are described in this article:

Deodar or Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara): native to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal.
Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani): native from Turkey to Lebanon and Cyprus.
Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica): native to the Atlas Mountains, from northern and central Morocco to northern Algeria.

All three are large woody trees. If you want to revise how trees differ from shrubs and herbs, see our list of herbs, shrubs and trees with examples.

What are the characteristics of a cedar tree?

The features below are common to true cedars. Exact sizes are given for the deodar, using the World Agroforestry tree database, and for garden-grown cedars, using North Carolina State University Extension.

Size and shape

Cedars are big, long-lived evergreen trees. In the wild, the deodar grows up to 65 m tall, with a trunk more than 4 m thick at breast height.

A young cedar is shaped like a pyramid. As it ages, the crown spreads and becomes rounded or flat-topped. Deodar branches are not arranged in whorls; they arise irregularly from the trunk. The cedar of Lebanon develops wide, horizontal branches, and its lower limbs may sweep the ground.

Needles

Cedar leaves are needles. Deodar needles are stiff, sharp-pointed and about 25 to 37 mm long. They are silvery or silvery-blue to grey-green.

The way the needles are arranged is the best clue for identification:

On new, long shoots, needles grow singly, spaced in a spiral along the stem.
On short, stubby side shoots, many needles grow together in tufts or clusters.
Each needle is three- or four-sided when cut across.

Because cedars are evergreen, their grey-green or blue-green foliage stays on through winter.

Cones

Cedars have separate male and female cones. Male cones stand upright. In the deodar they turn yellow with pollen, which is shed from mid-September to mid-October.

Female cones are woody and barrel-shaped. They sit upright on top of the branches. Deodar cones are 7.5 to 12 cm long and 5 to 8.7 cm wide. They are bluish when young and turn reddish-brown when ripe. Cedar of Lebanon cones are 3 to 4 inches (about 7.5 to 10 cm) long and mature in autumn every other year.

Bark

Deodar bark is greyish brown to almost black. Vertical and diagonal cracks break it into irregular, oblong scales.

Wood

Cedar wood has a pleasant smell. Deodar wood is white to light yellowish brown and has an oily feel. Its main properties are covered in the next section.

Cedar tree properties: what makes cedar wood special?

People have valued cedars mainly for their timber. The deodar shows the typical properties well.

Durability: The heartwood, the dark inner wood, is very durable. Insects and fungi do attack the outer sapwood.
Grain and texture: The wood is straight-grained and medium fine, though slightly uneven in texture.
Weight: It weighs about 560 kg per cubic metre on average.
Smell and oil: It has a characteristic odour and an oily feel. Oil from cedars can also keep insects away. Atlas cedar, for example, makes an aromatic oil that acts as a natural insect deterrent.

NCERT’s Class 11 textbook India: Physical Environment sums this up: deodar is a durable wood, mainly used in construction.

True cedars vs trees called “cedar”

Many trees with sweet-smelling wood are called cedars, but they are not all related. A good example is western red cedar of North America. The US Forest Service names it Thuja plicata and places it in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. So it is not a true cedar.

The table compares three true cedars with western red cedar.

Feature	Deodar	Cedar of Lebanon	Atlas cedar	Western red cedar
Scientific name	Cedrus deodara	Cedrus libani	Cedrus atlantica	Thuja plicata
Family	Pinaceae	Pinaceae	Pinaceae	Cupressaceae
True cedar?	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Native range	Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal	Turkey to Lebanon and Cyprus	Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria	Pacific coast and northern Rockies of North America
Leaves	Needles, 25-37 mm	Short, fragrant needles	Needles, bluish to bright green	Tiny scale-like leaves, 1.5-3 mm
Height	Up to 65 m in the wild	About 12-18 m in gardens; up to about 37 m recorded	About 12-18 m in gardens	Usually 21-30 m; sometimes 40 m
Wood	Very durable heartwood; building timber	Fragrant	Used for furniture and drawers	Soft and low in strength, but very resistant to decay

Western red cedar is easy to tell apart. Its leaves are flat, tiny scales pressed against fanlike sprays of twigs, not needles. Its bark is thin, fibrous and stringy. It is still a giant: the largest known trees are believed to be 1,000 years old or more.

Where do cedar trees grow?

True cedars are trees of mountains with cool, seasonal climates. They grow wild in two main areas: the mountains around the Mediterranean Sea and the western Himalaya.

The deodar’s natural habitat shows what cedars need. According to the World Agroforestry database, it grows between 1,200 and 3,500 m above sea level. There, mean annual temperatures are about 12 to 17 °C and yearly rainfall is 200 to 1,800 mm.

Slopes: Deodar grows on moderate to very steep, rocky slopes. It often dominates cool, north-facing slopes.
Light: It is a light demander, meaning young trees need plenty of sunlight. It often forms pure stands, patches of forest made almost entirely of one species.
Soil: It grows best on deep, fairly porous, fertile soil. It avoids stiff, badly drained soil, and it stays stunted on shallow, rocky ground.
Water: Older trees can survive drought, but seedlings cannot.

Garden cedars show similar needs. The cedar of Lebanon wants full sun and good drainage and does not tolerate shade. It is also the most cold-tolerant of the true cedars.

Cedars are now planted far outside their native ranges. Deodar has been introduced to countries such as Argentina, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Deodar: India’s cedar of the western Himalaya

The deodar is India’s native cedar. Its Hindi names include diar, deodar and dedwar. In English it is also called the Himalayan cedar.

NCERT’s Class 11 book places the deodar in the montane forests of the Himalaya. In these mountains, vegetation changes with altitude. Wet temperate forests grow between 1,000 and 2,000 m. NCERT calls deodar a highly valued endemic species, meaning a species found naturally only in a particular region. It grows mainly in the western part of the Himalayan range, so the deodar is native to the western Himalaya.

The same zone has oak, chestnut, chir pine, chinar and walnut. Blue pine and spruce appear higher up, at 2,225 to 3,048 m. Cedars, pines and spruces are all needle-leaved gymnosperms. To learn how such trees support industries and ecosystems, read about the economic importance of gymnosperms. For India’s full mountain forest belts, see our guide to forest types in India.

Deodar forests have long been managed by selection felling, in which only chosen trees are cut. This lets the forest regrow while still giving timber.

What are the uses of cedar trees?

Cedars give people timber, oil and shade. The main uses are listed below.

Building timber: Deodar is an important structural timber. It is used for houses, beams, floorboards, door and window frames, and railway sleepers.
Furniture and carpentry: Deodar wood is used for furniture and general carpentry, and it also makes quality plywood. Atlas cedar wood is commonly used for furniture and drawers.
Fuel: Deodar provides excellent fuelwood.
Oil and traditional medicine: Essential oils from deodar and cedar of Lebanon have been used as antiseptics in Asia. In India, deodar oil and extracts are used as insecticides and as herbal remedies for animal diseases.
Roofs and outdoor wood (western red cedar): Its decay-resistant wood suits shingles, shakes and siding. Hand-split shakes can last 100 years on a roof.
Gardens and parks: Deodar, cedar of Lebanon and Atlas cedar are grown as ornamental trees in parks and large gardens.

Why are cedar trees important for nature?

Cedars matter beyond their timber. In the Himalaya, deodar is used for soil conservation and erosion control. Its roots help hold soil on steep slopes, and it is a good species for re-planting bare land.

Cedars also support wildlife. Birds and small mammals use deodar for nesting, cover and food, and squirrels feed on its cones. In the northern Rocky Mountains of North America, western red cedar is a major winter food for big game such as deer and elk.

These trees also face threats. In India, deodar is damaged by snow, fire and browsing by goats. Some insects and fungi can strip its needles or kill trees. Protecting cedar forests helps keep mountain soils, water and wildlife safe.