Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex Carrière
Pinus atlantica Endl., C. libani A. Rich. subsp. atlantica (Endl.) Batt. & Trab.
Eng.: Atlas cedar. Spa.: Cedro del Atlas. Fre.: Cedre de l’Atlas. Ara.: Meddad, beguium. Tam.: Inguel, iguengen, idgel, ijdel, idil, adiil, iblez, adgal, edgeich, obhal, abaual, arz, arzaq, erz, lerz, larisq.
Large evergreen tree, monoecious, up 50 m in height, of irregular shape, with the branches forming layers culminating in a generally flat top. Juvenile trees are conical-pyramidal. Trunk straight, somewhat tortuous in extreme conditions, up to 2 m in diameter. Some ancient trees that were cut down in the central Rif had trunks up to 4-5 m in diameter. Bark very fissured, blackish, but greyish in the branches and young stems. Branches rise semiperpendicularly to the trunk, ± horizontally, extended, forming an open crown, intermediate between pines and spruces. Branchlets usually straight. Leaves needle-like, semirigid, sharp, tetragonal, isolated and long in the macroblasts (25-40 mm), shorter and grouped in rosettes to form the brachyblasts (8-19 mm). Colour intensely green with white-bluish tones. Male cones born solitary, cylindrical, upright in the centre of the rosette of leaves (3-6 cm). Female cones on the same tree, also in solitary in the centre of the brachyblasts, ovoid-cylindrical, green-purple. Woody strobili (5-13 × 3-9 cm) barrel-shaped, umbilicate at the apex, with very thin and oppressed scales. 2 seeds per scale, with a large triangular wing.
Flowering:
In autumn.
Fruiting:
In autumn of the following year, dehiscing throughout the following winter.
Habitat:
On all types of soils in plateaux and mountains with an altitudinal range of (900) 1,000-2,600 (2,800) m, where rainfall is generally greater than 500 mm per year. In subhumid to hyperhumid bioclimate, in superior mesomediterranean to oromediterranean floors. Endures drought and frost well. Forms large pure stands or mixed forests with Abies marocana, A. numidica, Pinus pinaster, Juniperus thurifera, Quercus rotundifolia, Q. faginea, Q. canariensis, Q. pyrenaica o Q. afares.
Distribution:
Endemic to North Africa, in Morocco along the central-western Rif, Middle Atlas (including the Jebel Tazekka) and eastern High Atlas. In Algeria, in the mountain ranges of Cabilia (Djurdjura, Tikjda, Babor y Tababor), Ouanougha, Blida Atlas (Chrea), Tazekka (Theniet El Had, Bucaid, etc.), in Aures (Belezma y Chelia) and Mount Hodna.
Observations:
Long considered a subspecies of C. libani, it differs mainly by its smaller size, smaller leaves and smaller pine cones. In the Middle East cedar, the leaves and branches are noticeably pendulous, something that rarely happens in C. atlantica. The Lebanese Cedar is currently considered as an intermediate species between the Himalayan cedar C. deodara (Roxb. ex D.Don) G.Don and the Atlas cedar, both geographically and taxonomically.In the high mountains, the cedar is the best solution to avoid disasters by flash-floods and erosion, as it forms a soft forest soil capable of retaining and gradually yielding the large amounts of water produced during storms and thaw. Where the forest has disappeared or is scarce, disasters are obvious: roads and power lines being cut, regular destruction of bridges and farmland, etc. Rather than costly investments, the best option for forest regeneration would be to simply prohibit the passage of livestock. In fact, in small plots where natural regeneration had virtually disappeared for centuries, spectacular results have been achieved through fencing, with a crowd of young cedars now covering the soil.
Conservation status:
Locally common species but with a restricted distribution. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species it is listed at a global level as Endangered (EN) (Thomas, 2013). In Algeria it is included in the List of protected non cultivated flora (Executive Decree 12-03 on 4-Jan-2012).