Home › Pinaceae › Cedrus › Cedrus atlantica (Atlas cedar) Observed: Thursday, April 30, 2020

synonym – Cedrus libani subsp. atlantica

Observed location: Green Lake Park, Seattle, WA

Native range: mountainous regions in Morocco and Algeria; mountainside (1,370–2,200 m. elevation) forests, pure or mixed with Algerian firs, cade junipers, holm oaks, and/or Italian maples

  • forms vast forests in humid zones

Cedrus atlantica branch

Key characteristics:

  • ~1” bluish-green blunt needle-like leaves spirally arranged in clusters

Cedrus atlantica leaves closeup

  • ~2”, woody, barrel-shaped female cone, shedding scales

Cedrus atlantica seed cone

Cedrus atlantica seed cone scale

Cedrus atlantica pollen cones

  • dark grey, scaly bark

Cedrus atlantica trunk/bark

Tools/resources used to identify: