喜马拉雅雪松种

Cedrus deodara, the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar, a conifer in the pine family, Pinaceae, native to the Himalayas.

Description

It is a large coniferous tree reaching 40–50 metres (131–164 feet) tall, exceptionally 60 m (197 ft) with a trunk up to 3 m (10 ft) in diameter. It has a conic crown with level branches and drooping branchlets.

The leaves are needle-like, mostly 2.5–5 centimetres (1–2 inches) long, occasionally up to 7 cm (3 in) long, slender (1 millimetre or 1⁄32 in thick), borne singly on long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20–30 on short shoots; they vary from bright green to glaucous blue-green in colour. The female cones are barrel-shaped, 7–13 cm (2+3⁄4–5 in) long and 5–9 cm (2–3+1⁄2 in) broad, and disintegrate when mature (in 12 months) to release the winged seeds. The male cones are 4–6 cm (1+1⁄2–2+1⁄4 in) long, and shed their pollen in autumn.

Chemistry

The bark of Cedrus deodara contains large amounts of taxifolin. The wood contains cedeodarin, ampelopsin, cedrin, cedrinoside, and deodarin (3′,4′,5,6-tetrahydroxy-8-methyl dihydroflavonol).

Etymology

The botanical name, which is also the English common name, is derived from the Sanskrit term devadāru, which means "wood of the gods", a compound of deva "god" and dāru "wood and tree".

Distribution and habitat

The species natively occurs in East-Afghanistan, South Western Tibet, Western Nepal, Northern Pakistan, and North-Central India.

It grows at elevations of 1,500–3,200 m (5,000–10,000 ft).

Reproduction

"Deodar is a wind-pollinated monoecious species".

Cultivation

It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, often planted in parks and large gardens for its drooping foliage. General cultivation is limited to areas with mild winters, with trees frequently killed by temperatures below about −25 °C (−13 °F), limiting it to USDA zone 7 and warmer for reliable growth. It can succeed in rather cool-summer climates, as in Ushuaia, Argentina.

The most cold-tolerant trees originate in the northwest of the species' range in Kashmir and Paktia Province, Afghanistan. Selected cultivars from this region are hardy to USDA zone 7 or even zone 6, tolerating temperatures down to about −30 °C (−22 °F). Named cultivars from this region include 'Eisregen', 'Eiswinter', 'Karl Fuchs', 'Kashmir', 'Polar Winter', and 'Shalimar'.

Uses

Construction material

Deodar is in great demand as building material because of its durability, rot-resistant character and fine, close grain, which is capable of taking a high polish. Its historical use to construct religious temples and in landscaping around temples is well recorded. Its rot-resistant character also makes it an ideal wood for constructing the well-known houseboats of Srinagar, Kashmir. In Pakistan and India, during the British colonial period, deodar wood was used extensively for construction of barracks, public buildings, bridges, canals and railway cars. Despite its durability, it is not a strong timber, and its brittle nature makes it unsuitable for delicate work where strength is required, such as chair-making.

Herbal Ayurveda

C. deodara is used in Ayurvedic medicine.

The inner wood is aromatic and used to make incense. Inner wood is distilled into essential oil. As insects avoid this tree, the essential oil is used as insect repellent on the feet of horses, cattle and camels.

Culture

Among Hindus, as the etymology of deodar suggests, it is worshiped as a divine tree. Deva, the first half of the Sanskrit term, means divine, deity, or deus. Dāru, the second part, is cognate with (related to) the words durum, druid, tree, and true. Several Hindu legends refer to this tree. For example, Valmiki Ramayan reads:

In the stands of Lodhra trees, Padmaka trees and in the woods of Devadaru, or Deodar trees, Ravana is to be searched there and there, together with Sita. [4-43-13]

The deodar is the national tree of Pakistan, and the state tree of Himachal Pradesh, India. In particular regions of Indian Central Himalayas such as the Jaunsar-Bawar region of Dehradun, Uttarakhand control over deodar trees is also caste-mediated. Upper-caste groups control and extract these trees for smuggling and developing personal wealth and profit. Deodar trees are huge sources of both economic and social capital.