32. P INUS C EDRUS
CEDAR OF LEBANON.
P inus Cedrus, foliis fasciculatis perennantibus, strobilis ovatis obtusis erectis; squamis adpressis
rotundatis.
P. Cedrus, foliis fasciculatis acutis. Linn. Sp. PI. 1420. Syst. ed. Reich, v. 4 . 1/4 . Evel. Sylv. ed.
Hunter. 3 1 1 . Ait. Kew. v. 3 . 369. Vitm. S. Plant, v. 5. 345. Willden. Perl. Baunvz,. 214.
P. foliis fasciculatis perennantibus, conis ovatis obtusis ercctis; squamis adpressis rotundis, cortice leevi.
Du Roi. Harbk. ed. Pott. v. 2. 120.
Larix Cedrus. Mill. Diet. n. 3 .
L. orientalis, fructu rotundiore obtuso. Toum. Inst. 586 . Duhamel. Arb. v. 1. 332. n. 2. t. 132.
Cedrus, foliis rigidis acuminatis non deciduis, conis subrotundis selectis. Trew. Ehr. t. 1, 4 . 28, 6o, 61.
Nov. Act. A.N .C . v. 3 . App. 4 4 5 . t. 13. / 1- 7 - 11. 12. 14.
C. conifera, foliis laricis. Bauh. Pin. 4 0 0 . Rail. Hist. 1404.
C. Libani. Barr. I c .4Qg. Edw. Ornith. 1. 188.
C. Phoenicia. Reneahn. Sp. 27.
Cedrus. Bell. It. 1Ö2. Cam. Epit. 57.
Die Wahre Ceder. Linn. Pfl. Syst. v. 2. 356.
Habitat in Syria:, Libani, Amanse, Tauri montibus.
Floret Octobri.
T his is too remarkable a tree to be mistaken or confounded with other species. Its branches are
very long, and disposed like those of P. Larix. After the excision of a branch, the part remaining in
the trunk gradually loosens itself, and assumes a round form, resembling a potatoe; if the baik covering
it be struck smartly with a hammer, the knot leaps out. This fact was communicated to me by Sir
Joseph Banks, and I have since repeated the experiment myself. The leaves are small, stiff, and of a
fragrant smell. The cones are very large, and have rounded, membranous squama;, which in their
natural state are pressed close, but unfold when exposed to warm water. There are six cotyledons.
From the observations made by Pallas in Siberia, dry ground is not so favourable as moist to the growth
of P. Cedrus. This traveller asserts that a wet season, in the districts which he visited, was considered
as absolutely necessary to bring the fructification to maturity. The seeds should be sown about the
middle of March in pots, or boxes, nearly half an inch deep. The following is the best mode of extricating
them from the cones. Let a hole be bored with a gimblet exactly through the middle of each
cone, from the base to the apex. Put them into a tub of water, in which they may remain until the
next day; then let a wooden peg, rather bigger than the gimblet, be thrust into the hole, and it will so
divide the cones that the different scales may be taken away, and the seeds picked out. In this pro-
great care must be taken not to bruise the seeds, as they will be very tender. The plants will
come up in about seven or eight weeks after the seeds have been sown; they should then be removed
from the heat of the sun into a shady place, where they may stand, but not under shelter, the whole
summer; during which time it is necessary to keep them free from weeds, and to water them occasionally.
In the winter season a warmer situation is to be sought, and if the weather should prove very
severe, perhaps it may be proper to shelter them with mats, or to cover them with a hot-bed frame.
At the beginning of the following April, these plants may be pricked out into beds, and placed about