Trees for Life: Cedarwood

Cedar is a catch-all name for many different species of often unrelated tree – we show you a few of them

In this series we have looked at a very few species of tree in each article. There cannot be a single, named tree in the world that isn’t related to others or, in some cases such as cedar, frequently ‘unrelated’. It does get very complicated – so much so that we thought it might be better to take several different ‘cedars’ as examples because they have such diverse properties that are useful to the woodworker.

Pinaceae family (Cedrus or Cedar)

Cedar of Lebanon

There are five species in this group, but Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is well known and liked as workable timber.

Location

Over the centuries, extensive deforestation has occurred, with only small remnants of the original forests surviving. Deforestation has been particularly severe in Lebanon and on Cyprus. On Cyprus, only small trees up to 25m tall survive, though Pliny the Elder recorded cedars 40m tall. Extensive reforestation of cedar is being carried out in the Mediterranean region.

In Turkey, more than 50 million young cedars are planted annually, covering an area of approximately 300sq km. Lebanese cedar populations are also expanding through an active programme combining replanting and protection of natural regeneration from browsing goats, hunting, forest fires and woodworms. The Lebanese state has created several forest reserves.

Uses

It is very prized for its fine grain, attractive yellow colour and fragrance. It is exceptionally durable and immune to insect ravages. It is used for furniture, construction and handicrafts. In Turkey, shelterwood cutting and clearcutting are used to harvest timber and promote uniform forest regeneration. Cedar resin (cedria) and cedar essential oil called cedrum are prized extracts from the timber and cones of the cedar tree.

Cupressaceae family

This is by far the largest group of trees and shrubs, of which western red cedar (Thuja plicata), Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) and a variety of incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) are of interest.

Western red cedar

Location

Thuja plicata is among the most widespread trees in the Pacific Northwest. It is associated with Douglas fir and western hemlock in most places where it grows. It is found at the elevation range to a maximum of 7,510ft above sea level at Crater Lake in Oregon. In addition to growing in lush forests and mountainsides, western red cedar is also a riparian tree, growing in many forested swamps and streambanks in its range. The tree is shade-tolerant and able to reproduce under dense shade.

Uses

The soft, red-brown timber has a tight, straight grain and few knots. It is valued for its distinct appearance, aroma and its high natural resistance to decay, being extensively used for outdoor construction in the form of posts, decking, shingles, and siding. It is commonly used for the framing and long wood in lightweight sail boats and kayaks.

In larger boats it is often used in sandwich construction between two layers of epoxy resin and/or fibreglass as it is about 30% lighter than common boat-building woods, such as mahogany. For its weight it is quite strong but can be brittle. It glues well with epoxy resin or resorcinol adhesive. Its light weight, strength and dark, warm sound make it a popular choice for guitar soundboards.

Port Orford cedar

Location

It was first discovered (by Euro-Americans) near Port Orford in Oregon and introduced into cultivation in 1854 by collectors working for Charles Lawson FRSE, of Lawson & Son nursery in Edinburgh, Scotland, after whom it was named as Lawson Cypress by the botanist Andrew Murray. The USDA officially calls it by the name Port Orford cedar, as do most people in its native area, but some botanists prefer to use the name Lawson cypress instead. The name ‘Lawson’s Cypress’ is widely used in horticulture.

Uses

The wood is light, yet has great strength and rot resistance, and is particularly highly valued in East Asia, with large amounts being exported to Japan, where it is in high demand for making coffins and for shrines and temples. Its lumber is also known for its highly fragrant ginger aroma. Due to the straightness of its grain, it is also one of the preferred woods for the manufacture of arrow shafts. It is considered an acceptable, though not ideal, wood for construction of aircraft.

It is considered more than acceptable for use in stringed instruments. Its fine grain, good strength and tonal quality are highly regarded for soundboards in guitar making. 

Incense cedar

Location

Calocedrus decurrens is a species of conifer native to western North America, with the bulk of the range in the United States, from central western Oregon through most of California and the extreme west of Nevada, and also a short distance into North West Mexico in northern Baja California. It grows at altitudes of 160-9510ft.

Uses

The wood of Calocedrus is soft, moderately decay-resistant, and with a strong, spicy-resinous fragrance. That of C. decurrens is the primary material for wooden pencils, because it is soft and tends to sharpen easily without forming splinters. The two Asian Calocedrus species were, at least in the past, in very high demand for coffin manufacture in China, due to the scent of the wood and its decay resistance. It is likely that past over-exploitation is responsible for their current rarity.

Meliaceae family

Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata)

An obvious choice, even though it isn’t a cedar – this does get confusing…

Location

Cedro is a tree of Central and South America, appearing in forests of moist and seasonally dry subtropical or tropical life zones from latitude 26°N on the Pacific coast of Mexico, throughout Central America and the Caribbean, to the lowlands and foothills of most of South America up to 3900ft altitude, finding its southern limit at about latitude 28°S in Argentina. It has become a troublesome, invasive species in the Galapagos Islands. Cedro is always found naturally on well-drained soils, often but not exclusively on limestone.

It tolerates a long dry season but does not flourish in areas of rainfall greater than about 3000mm or on sites with heavy or waterlogged soils. Individual trees are generally scattered in mixed semi-evergreen or semi-deciduous forests dominated by other species. Mahogany is a close relative, being often found with cedro, and both suffer damage from the same pest, the mahogany shoot borer (Hypsipyla grandella).

Uses

Cedrela odorata is the most commercially important and widely distributed species in the genus Cedrela. Known as Spanish cedar in English commerce, the aromatic wood is in high demand in the American tropics because it is naturally termite and rot-resistant. An attractive, moderately lightweight wood, its primary use is in household articles to store clothing. Cedro heartwood contains an aromatic and insect- repelling resin that is the source of its popular name, Spanish cedar, resembling the aroma of the unrelated true cedars (Cedrus spp.). Cedro works easily and makes excellent plywood and veneer and would be more widely used if it could be successfully plantation grown. This plant is often used for honey production in beehive and humidor construction. It is occasionally used for tops or veneers on some kinds of electric guitars and the wood is the traditional choice for making the neck of flamenco and classical guitars.

Further reading