5 Graines Cèdre du Liban, Cedrus libani

Cedar of Lebanon, cedar of Mont Lebanon, Cedrus Lebani |

The Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus Lebani)1, sometimes called Cedar of Mount Lebanon, is a species D 'Trees Conifers of the family of Pinaceae. The main characteristic of Lebanon cedar comes from its conical port during its first thirty years, becoming Tabular later.

5 Seeds -  Cold stratification 2 months before sowing, ideal temperature of sowing 16 ° C

The port, first pyramidal, becomes deployed with age, with almost horizontal and frequently imposing low branches, even as large as the trunk ramifications.

In culture, the latter is rarely simple. The different strains stand in the style of organ pipes up to almost 40 M high. The largest of the trunks reach 4.5 M in diameter, which corresponds to an age of 2 500 years.

Records recorded2 are only for cultivated trees. There may be trees with measures greater than the wild.

• Height : 38 M
• Diameter : 3.48 M (Circumference of 10.93 M)
• Age : 630 ± 5 years

This species is distinguished from other species of cedars by the length of its needles, which measure 3 or 3.5 CM of length on average, against 2 or 2.5 CM for CEDRUS ATLANTICA and up to 5 CM for Cedrus Deodara. Its female cones measure 8 to 10 CM long, a little more than those of Cedrus Atlantica, but a little less than the largest cones of Cedrus Deodara3. The male flowers are kittens of 7 cm long on average passing from light green to yellow during the full maturity of pollen of the same color, then turning brown when they fall of the tree.

Originally from Lebanon As its name suggests, Lebanon Cedar is a national emblem, which is found in particular on the Drapeau of the country.

In Lebanon, we find cedar from 1 500 M Altitude in the mountain floor of vegetation of Mont-Lebanon, floor also occupied by the tree of Cilicia. The fir trees and cedars could not cross the crest, too high of Mont-Lebanon, which explains their absence on the eastern slope of the mountain5.

Formerly covering a larger part of Lebanese territory, old cedar forests are now reduced to discontinuous islands, due to the deforestation linked to human and climatic influences.

The still significant settlement areas in Lebanon are :

• in the region of BCHARRÉ, to the north, at the foot of Mont Makmel. This is the so -called " reserve of Cedles of God " (arz er rab), written in 1998 on the list of World Heritage UNESCO with the valley of Qadisha which is contiguous to it. This forest would now have 2 trimilly trees, 10 millennia and 363 several hundred years6. It is accessed by passing by BCHARRÉ ;
• in Chouf, on Mont Barouk. It is a larger and more difficult forest, protected by Chouf Nature Reserve ; It is also less famous ;
• at Tannourine (Lebanon-Nord) ;
• in Jaj, also called Jej, by the name of the village where the Cédraie is located (region of byblos). Here the cedars are obviously younger than in Bcharré because, according to legend, their wood would have been used to build the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

The cedar, symbol of Lebanon, is considered a sacred tree, it is mentioned in the three great monotheistic religions (Islam, Judaism and Christianity).
It is cited in the Bible as being used by Solomon to build the frame of the temple of Jerusalem.

 Contents subject to the CC-BY-SA license 3.0. Source : Article Cedar of Lebanon of Wikipedia in French (Authors)