Description

Deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the western Himalayas. It grows at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m (5,000–10,000 ft). Deodar cedar is an evergreen tree that can grow around 33 metres tall. The Deodar is a very important timber tree in Pakistan, Kashmir and NW India. Its strong and durable wood is mostly used for construction.

Characteristics:

Deodar is a very elegant ornamental tree, commonly found on the slopes of Western Himalayas. It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching 40-50 m tall, exceptionally 60 m, with a trunk up to 3 m diameter. It has a conic crown with horizontal branches and drooping branchlets. The leaves are needle-like, mostly 2.5-5 cm long, occasionally up to 7 cm long, slender (1 mm thick), borne singly on long shoots, and in dense clusters of 20-30 on short shoots; they vary from bright green to glaucous blue-green in colour. The female cones are barrel-shaped, 7-13 cm long and 5-8 cm broad, and disintegrate when mature (in 12 months) to release the winged seeds. The male cones are 4-6 cm long, and shed their pollen in autumn

Medicinal Uses:

Because of its antifungal and insect repellent properties, rooms made of deodar cedar wood are used to store meat and food grains like oats and wheat in Shimla, Kullu, and Himachal Pradesh. The heartwood is carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic and expectorant.  A decoction of the wood is used in the treatment of fevers, flatulence, pulmonary and urinary disorders, rheumatism, piles, kidney stones, insomnia, diabetes etc. It has been used as an antidote to snake bites. The plant yields a medicinal essential oil by distillation of the wood, it is used in the treatment of phthisis, bronchitis, blennorrhagia and skin eruptions.  A resin obtained from the wood is used externally to treat bruises, skin diseases and injuries to joints.