[070] Cedrus atlantica, Atlas Cedar

[070] Cedrus atlantica, Atlas Cedar

Introduction

Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas Cedar is a large, evergreen, coniferous tree, native to a small area in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, widely planted in temperate countries as an ornamental tree.

It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of [071] the Cedar of Lebanon.

Taxonomy

Kingdom – Plants

Clade – Vascular Plants

Division – Pinophyta (Conifers)

Class – Pinopsida (Conifers)

Order – Pinales (All extant conifers}

Family – Pinaceae

Subfamily – Abietoideae (Firs, Cedars and others)

Genus – Cedrus

Scientific Name – Cedrus atlantica

There are several cultivated varieties, some of which have glaucous (blueish) needles.

Name

I will let you work out the meaning of Cedrus atlantica.

Apart from the very few species in the Cedrus genus, there are many other trees called Cedar, coming from several different families of conifers.

Pine Trees

There are about 600 living species in the order Pinales of all living conifers. In comparison there are about 300 000 species of flowering plants. Pinales consists of six families (and two that are extinct.)

• Pinaceae, almost entirely Northern Hemisphere species, about 250 species – Pine, Spruce, Larch, Fir, Cedar.
• Cupressaceae, about 140 species – Cypress, Juniper, Redwoods and others.
• Araucariaceae. See [032] Chile Pine.
• Podocapaceae, mostly Southern Hemisphere.
• Sciadopityaceae, a single species found in Japan.

At the risk of stating the obvious, Wikipedia reminds us that: ‘Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by their protein-type sieve cell plastids, pattern of proembryogeny, and lack of bioflavonoids.’ That’s the obvious distinction between Pines (including Cedars) and Cypresses.

To be honest, apart from the Chile Pine, almost all the conifers you are likely to see are very similar in appearance.

[Botanical classification has some complicated rules. If we look at conifers, we can consider them as a Division called either Pinophyta or Coniferae; or as a Class called Pinopsida or Coniferae; or as an Order called Pinales or Coniferae or Coniferales.]

Description

Like almost all conifers, Cedrus atlantica is a large, evergreen tree with needle-shaped leaves.

Like the Chile Pine, it has male and female cones.

Habitat and use

This tree is native to a small area in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco but it has been widely cultivated elsewhere. In France it is planted for its timber.

Other Notes

I had to include this species because there is one outside my window that I see every day. Most of my pictures come from this tree. As you can see, it’s a cultivated variety with blueish needles and this is probably one of the reasons for the popularity of this species.

See also

Tomorrow we will see the Cedar or Lebanon.

The Deodar Cedar, Cedrus deodara, from the Western Himalayas, is another close relative, seen below with more usual green needles.