Deep Dive into the Ethnobotany of Juniper part 3: What is a 'true Cedar'?

What is a ‘true’ or a ‘false’ Cedar?

The word Cedar comes from the Latin word Cedrus which comes from the Greek word Kedros. The common name Cedar actually came from the ‘true Cedars’ of Lebanon that are trees with the genus Cedrus, actually in the Pine family. Supposedly in this grove, some important events of Christ occurs, but the story of the Cedars dates back to pre-Christianity.

The likely Cedar (Cedrus spp., (Pinaceae)) being referred to originally, Lebanese Cedar, comes from age old tales of sacred Cedar groves that date back to the Mesopotamian tale of Gilgamesh. The various ancient stories of the Cedars of Lebanon are disputed depending on whether you stick to the early Sumerian story which places the magical forest in Iran, or the Babylonian version which was later, placing the magical forest in Lebanon. The interpretation of what species is a is a ‘true cedar’ depends on what story you want to focus on.

Later, the Bible refers to the Cedars of Lebanon for medicine, building and symbolizing the purity of the Virgin Mary.

The cedar tree is a tree planted by God (Psalm 104:16, Isaiah 41:19)

Even in the Bible, scholars think what they are referring to as the ‘Cedars of Lebanon’ might be a Juniperus species (probably Juniperus excelsa, Persian Juniper) and sometimes a Cedrus based on studying the actually ecology of the locations described. Since Biblical stories can be often interpreted as symbolic, or are referring to locations we can never know for sure, we can surmise that the true location is not certain. Of course many biblical scholars debate about this. The “Cedar” over time, though probably originally referring to a Cedrus got used in the Middle East and Europe to describe hardy aromatic wood of Cedrus or Juniperus species. Though it’s story dates back to pre-Christianity, its significance to a Christianized society today is associated with purity, resilience, and peace. Some Cedrus groves in Lebanon are very old.

So, this loose use of the word Cedar has been floating around for quite some time. Currently it is generally accepted that Cedrus species are ‘true-cedars’ and everything else called Cedar is a ‘false-cedar.’ Nonetheless, it is used to describe trees with a special magical quality which are often revered and honored.

The word “Cedar” was also then used to describe other sacred and similar trees in the Middle East and Europe before the European colonization of Turtle Island. This word came to Turtle Island, and was used to describe things that looked like the Cedars in the Mediterranean that botanists and naturalists recognized.

Folks often refer to all kinds of Cypress family trees as ‘true cedars’ but the origination of the saying comes from these ancient stories and our interpretation of them.

There are many different trees and shrubs or even herbaceous plants in different plant families called Cedar around the world, there is a list on Wikipedia, found here. Several Junipers are called Cedars, including Bermuda Cedar and Eastern Red Cedar.

Across Turtle Island, you can find a variety of Juniper species:

*Juniperus ashei (Ashe Juniper): towards Texas and Mexico

Juniperus monosperma (One Seed Juniper): deep in the Southwest

Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain Juniper): in the Rockies, Southwest and into Canada

Juniperus communis (Common Juniper) varieties: in the southwest and into Canada

Juniper utahensis (Utah Juniper): across the Great Basin, Utah and California

Juniperus californica (California Juniper): across California and Baja, Mexico

Juniper occidentalis/grandis (Western/Sierra Juniper): Central-eastern Oregon and the eastern Sierra

Juniperus pinchotii, (Pinchot/Redberry Juniper): Texas and Mexico

Of course, Like many plants, some Junipers can hybridize where overlapping. There are an incredible amount of Juniper species diversity on Turtle Island.