Flora-Fauna

Cedrus libani A. Rich.

(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. VI nº 5; 1966)

• Life-form & habit: Evergreen coniferous tree, reaching up to 40 m in height; trunk thick, crown wide and flattened in old individuals.

• Leaves: Persistent, 15–35 mm long, 1 mm wide; spirally arranged on long shoots and tufted in rosettes on short shoots; green to slightly glaucous.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Male flowers in upright catkins borne on short shoots; female flowers solitary and terminal.

• Cones: Erect, 7–10 × 4–7 cm, initially purple-violet then turning grey-green; scales deciduous at maturity.

• Seed: Wedge-shaped, broadly winged.

• Phenology: Flowers in autumn; cones take two years to mature.

• Habitat & elevation: Prefers well-aerated limestone soils; typically grows between 1,200 and 1,900 m elevation.

• Lebanese distribution:
  Mm.: Summit of Jabal Niha above Maasser ech-Chouf, Barouk, and ‘Aïn Zehalta; western slopes of Jabal el-Jaj between Tannourine and Hadeth; above Bcharré (historic grove "Les Cèdres"); forest of Ehden; scattered stands north of Sir.
  S. Mm.: Slenfé, near the summit but on the eastern slope.
  Elsewhere: Recent plantations in various parts of Lebanon.

• Native range: Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Amanus and Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey

• Introduced into: Bulgaria, Great Britain