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Cedar trees and wood
Cedars are very popular ornamental trees, widely used in horticulture in temperate climates where winter temperatures do not fall below about -25 °C. The Turkish Cedar is slightly hardier, to -30 °C or just below. Extensive mortality of planted specimens can occur in severe winters where temperatures do drop lower.Areas with successful long-term cultivation include the entire Mediterranean region, western Europe north to the British Isles, southern Australia and New Zealand, and southern and western North America. They are also grown for their durable (decay-resistant) scented wood, most famously used in the construction of King Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. The wood is also used for humbler purposes requiring resistance to weather, such as shakes and shingles. Cedar wood and cedar oil is known to be a natural repellent to moths, hence hope chests were made of cedar when available. Cedar is a popular lining for modern-day closets in which woolens are stored. The use of cedar is mentioned in The Iliad, referring to the cedar-roofed or lined storage chamber where Priam goes to fetch the treasures used to ransom the corpse of his son Hector from Achilles. Historically, extensive deforestation has occurred, with only small remnants of the original forests surviving. Deforestation has been particularly severe in the Lebanon and Cyprus; on Cyprus, only small trees up to 25 m tall survive, though Pliny the Elder recorded cedars 40 m tall there. Extensive reforestation of cedar is carried out in the Mediterranean region, particularly Turkey, where over 50 million young cedars are being planted annually. The Lebanese populations are also now expanding through a combination of replanting and protection of natural regeneration from browsing by goats. Extract from 'The International book of WOOD' curtesy Michael Beazley Publishers Limited 1979. |
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