CEDRUS 323 



C. ATLANTIC A, Manet ti. ATLAS CEDAR. 



A tree up to 120 ft. high, pyramidal when young, ultimately assuming, 

 at least in a wild state, the flat-topped shape with horizontally spreading 

 branches, characteristic of the cedar of Lebanon ; young shoots downy. 

 Leaves \ to i in. long, needle-like, stouter than in C. Libani, f curved towards 

 the tip fvarying in colour from green to silvery. Cones 3 ins. long, i^ to 2. 

 ins. wide, cylindrical. 



Native of Algeria and Morocco on the Atlas Mountains ; introduced about 

 1844. This cedar is very hardy, and is thriving splendidly in various parts 

 of the British Isles. At Kew, on dry, hot soil it grows more quickly and 

 withstands London smoke better than either the Lebanon cedar or the deodar. 

 It is difficult to distinguish it in a young state from C. Libani, but its twigs 

 are always downy, and more so than those of the Lebanon species. Its 

 cones, too, do not taper above the middle so much. The leading shoot 

 of C. atlantica is always stiffly erect, and this has been considered to 

 furnish another distinction from C. Libani, by reason of the latter having 

 a drooping one (see J. D. Hooker in Natural History Review, January 

 1862). The Atlas cedar varies much in the hue of its foliage; the following 

 varieties are distinguished : 



Var. AUREA. Leaves of a yellowish colour. This is only propagated 

 by grafting, and is not so vigorous as seedling trees. 



Var. GLAUCA. Leaves of a more or less silvery hue ; the most striking 

 form has been named "argentea," in which the whole tree is of a beautiful 

 pale grey-blue colour. Ordinary var. glauca can often be selected among 

 batches of seedlings, and there is every gradation between it and what we 

 regard as the green type in nature as well as in gardens. 



Var. 'PENDULA. A curious form, with long, slender, whip-like branches. 



C. DEODARA, LdWSOn. DEODAR. 



A tree up to 250 ft. high in a wild state, forming in age, like the Lebanon 

 and Atlas cedars, a flat, spreading top where there is room for lateral 

 expansion ; of broadly pyramidal form when young. Leading shoot arching ; 

 branchlets pendulous at the ends, always downy. Leaves I to i^ (occasionally 

 2) ins. long, needle-like. Cones about 4 ins. long, 3 ins. wide, broadly egg- 

 shaped, as yet infrequently borne with us. 



Native of the Himalaya; introduced by the Hon. Leslie Melville in 1831. 

 Whilst the deodar is undoubtedly the tenderest of the cedars, it is the most 

 elegant in a young state. Few coniferous trees are, indeed, so graceful. 

 It is on this account (as well as by its longer leaves) easily distinguished from 

 the other two, which have more or less erect leading shoots and stiff 

 branchlets. The young twigs of the deodar, too, are as a rule distinctly more 

 downy. Like the other cedars, it varies considerably in the hue of its foliage, 

 which usually is of a grey or glaucous green. Numerous variations have 

 appeared in cultivation, the more important ones being as follows : 



Var. ALBO-SPICA. Tips of young shoots white. 



Var. CRASSIFOLIA. Stiff-habited tree ; leaves thicker and shorter. 



Var. PENDULA. Leading shoot very pendulous, and needing support if 

 the tree is desired to increase in height. 



Var. ROBUSTA. A very distinct form easily distinguished by the stoutness 

 and length (2 ins.) of its leaves ; rather pendulous. 



Var. VIRIDIS. Foliage grass green. 



