Cedar is part of the English common name of many trees and other plants, particularly those of the genus Cedrus.

Some botanical authorities consider the Old-World Cedrus the only "true cedars".^[1][2] Many other species worldwide with similarly aromatic wood, including several species of genera Calocedrus, Thuja, and Chamaecyparis in the Pacific Northwest of North America, are referred to as "false cedars".^[3]

Plants called "cedar" include:

Family Pinaceae

• Cedrus, common English name cedar, a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae
  • Cedrus libani, the Lebanon cedar, native to Lebanon, western Syria and south-central Turkey
  • Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas Ceder, native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria
  • Cedrus deodara, the Deodar cedar, native to the western Himalayas
  • Cedrus brevifolia, the Cyprus cedar, found in the island of Cyprus' Cedar Valley in the Troodos Mountains
• Pinus sibirica, the Siberian pine, occasionally erroneously referred to as "Siberian cedar"

Family Cupressaceae

• Atlantic white cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides
• Bermuda cedar, Juniperus bermudiana, a species of juniper endemic to Bermuda
• Chilean cedar, Austrocedrus chilensis
• Chinese cedarwood oil comes from Cupressus funebris, the Chinese weeping cypress
• Clanwilliam cedar, Widdringtonia cedarbergensis, a species of cypress endemic to the Cederberg mountains of South Africa
• Eastern red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, a species of juniper native to eastern North America
• Eastern white cedar, also northern white cedar, Thuja occidentalis, native to eastern North America.
• Calocedrus, the incense cedars, a genus native to western North America, Eastern Asia
• Japanese cedar, Cryptomeria japonica; known as 杉 (Sugi) in Japanese
• Juniperus cedrus, Spanish: cedro de Canarias, cedro
• Mexican white cedar, Cupressus lusitanica, a species of cypress native to Mexico and Central America
• Mountain cedar, source of Texas cedarwood oil and abundant allergenic pollen, Juniperus ashei, an evergreen shrub native to northeastern Mexico and the south central United States
• New Zealand cedar, Libocedrus bidwillii
• Persian cedar, Cupressus sempervirens
• Port Orford-cedar, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, or Lawson cypress, California, Oregon
• Prickly cedar, sharp cedar, Juniperus oxycedrus, native to the Mediterranean region
• Western red cedar, Thuja plicata, a cypress of the Pacific northwest
• Yellow cedar, Cupressus nootkatensis, also called Alaska cedar

Family Meliaceae

• Spanish cedar, Cedrela odorata
• Cigar-box cedar, Cedrela
• Australian red cedar, Toona ciliata
• Ceylon cedar or Melia azedarach, a species of deciduous tree native to India, southern China and Australia

Other families

• Bay cedar, Suriana (Surianaceae)
• Running cedar or ground cedar, various species of clubmosses (Lycopodiopsida) in the genus Diphasiastrum
• Saltcedar, Tamarix (Caryophyllaceae)
• Stinking cedar, Torreya taxifolia (Cephalotaxaceae)
• Warren River cedar or native cedar, Taxandria juniperina (Myrtaceae)
• White cedar, Tabebuia heterophylla (Bignoniaceae)

References