Гімалайський кедр

The tree is native to the Himalayas. It reaches 40-50 metres tall, exceptionally 60 m, with a trunk up to 3 m in diameter. The species natively occurs in East-Afghanistan, South Western Tibet, Western Nepal, Northern Pakistan and North-Central India. It grows at elevations of 1,500-3,200 m. The deodar is the national tree of Pakistan and the state tree of Himachal Pradesh, India.

The name deodar comes from the Sanskrit term devadāru, which means 'wood of the gods'. Among Hindus it is worshiped as a divine tree.

The bark contains large amounts of taxifolin. The main components of the needle essential oil include α-terpineol (30.2%), linalool (24.47%), limonene (17.01%), anethole (14.57%), caryophyllene (3.14%) and eugenol (2.14%). The major components of the oil hydrodistilled from the wood chips are β-himachalene (38.3%), α-himachalene (17.1%) and γ-himachalene (12.6%). The extract obtained by percolation has E-γ-atlantone (38.5%) and E-α-atlantone (10.2%) as major components.

The inner wood is aromatic and used to make incense. As insects avoid this tree, the essential oil is used as insect repellent on the feet of horses, cattle and camels. The oil has antifungal properties and some potential for control of fungal deterioration of spices during storage. Rooms made of deodar cedar wood are used to store meat and food grains like oats and wheat in Shimla, Kullu and Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. C. deodara is used in Ayurvedic medicine. The gum of the tree is used to make rope incense in Nepal and Tibet.

Its historical use to construct religious temples is well recorded. Its rot-resistant character also makes it an ideal wood for constructing the well-known houseboats of Srinagar, Kashmir. In Pakistan and India, during the British colonial period, deodar wood was used extensively for construction of barracks, public buildings, bridges, canals and railway cars.

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Related: Australian Blue Cypress · Cedar · Cedarwood · Cedrene · Cedrol · Cedryl Acetate · Cypress · False Cypress