Cedrus deodara (; Hindi, Sanskrit: devadāru; xue song) is a species of cedar trees. It is also known as: Deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or Himalayan deodar.

It is common in the western Himalayas, eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, north-central India (states such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand. It is also local to Kashmir, southwesternmost Tibet and western Nepal.

Cedrus deodara

It grows in places that are 1500–3200 m above sea level. It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching 40–50 m tall, exceptionally 60 m, with a trunk up to 3m thick. It has a cone-shaped crown with level branches and drooping branchlets.

Cedrus deodara

Appearance

The leaves are needle-like, mostly 2.5–5 cm long. It occasionally grows up to 7 cm long. It can be very thin (1 mm thick), borne singly on long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20-30 on short shoots. Its colours range from bright green to glaucous blue-green.

Cedrus deodara

The female cones are barrel-shaped, 7–13 cm long and 5–9 cm broad, and break up when mature (in 12 months) to release the winged seeds. The male cones are 4–6 cm long, and shed their pollen in autumn.

The Himalayan deodar is the state tree of Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and National tree of Pakistan..

Notes

References

National symbols of Pakistan

Plants of Pakistan

Plants and animals of Kashmir

Conifers