324 CEDRUS CELASTRUS 



C. LIBANI, Barretter. CEDAR OF LEBANON. 



A tree 80 to 120 ft. high and 4 ft. to 8 ft. in diameter of trunk, pyramidal 

 when young, ultimately flat and spreading at the top, and developing huge 

 horizontal branches ; young shoots usually furnished with a minute down. 

 Leaves f to i^ ins. long, needle-like, but thickest towards the end. Cones 

 3 to 5 ins. long, 2 to 2^ ins. wide, barrel-shaped. 



Native of Mount Lebanon in Palestine, and of the Cilician Taurus in 

 Asia Minor ; introduced in the latter half of the seventeenth century, probably 

 between 1670 and 1680. Irrespective of its sacred and historical associations, 

 no tree ever introduced to our islands has added more to the charm of gardens 

 than the cedar of Lebanon. Its thick, stately trunk and noble crown of wide- 

 spreading, horizontal branches give to it an air of distinction no other tree at 

 present can rival, although in course of time, perhaps, the Atlas cedar will 

 assume a similar form. The largest specimen on Mount Lebanon is over 

 40 ft. in girth of trunk. The finest tree known to Mr Elwes in the British Isles 

 is at Pains Hill, near Cobham ; in 1904 it was found by him to be 115 to 120 ft. 

 high and 26 ft. 5 ins. in girth. There are still numerous stately trees in the 

 suburbs of London, but they are, alas ! steadily becoming fewer and less 

 vigorous ; and until there is a revolution in the methods of consuming coal in 

 the metropolis, the gaps will never be filled. It appears to thrive best in the 

 warmer, drier parts of the country, and likes a deep, loamy soil. All the finest 

 specimens are in the south of England. (See atlantica for distinctions between 

 the two.) 



Var. ARGENTEA, Antoine. Leaves of a very glaucous hue. Native of 

 Cilicia. 



Var. BREVIFOLIA, Hooker fil. (C. brevifolia, Henry}. Cyprian Cedar. This 

 differs from the Lebanon cedar in its shorter leaves (j to \ in. long), and 

 smaller cylindrical cones. Discovered in Cyprus in 1879 ; introduced to Kew 

 two years later. It does not promise to be of so much garden value as the 

 other cedars, having much the aspect of a very starved C. atlantica or 

 C. Libani. The trees on the mountains of Cyprus average about 40 ft. 

 in height. 



Var. DECIDUA, Carriere. Both in the Atlas and Lebanon cedars one 

 occasionally sees forms that lose all or most of their leaves in winter. They 

 are usually stiff in habit, short-leaved, and slow-growing. It is questionable 

 whether these characters are not merely due to inferior vigour. 



CELASTRUS. CELASTRACE^:. 



Vigorous climbers, or shrubs of a loose, spreading habit, with alternate, 

 deciduous leaves. Flowers small, greenish yellow or white, of little beauty ; 

 in terminal or axillary clusters, with the sexes sometimes on separate 

 plants. Fruit very handsome ; usually a three-lobed capsule, which when 

 ripe 'splits open, revealing its highly coloured inner surface and trie 

 fleshy covering of the seeds, also highly coloured and known as the 

 aril. The climbing species are admirable for covering rough oak 

 branches 10 to 1^5 ft. high set in the ground, old trees, or for planting 

 anywhere where the twining shoots may firmly attach themselves and 

 secure the plant, yet at the same time allow many of the long, slender 

 shoots to hang unrestrained in free air. No systematic pruning is required 

 except such as is necessary out of considerations of space, and this should 

 be done as soon as the fruits have fallen in winter. Seeds afford an 



