Continuing my mini-series on marvellous Middle Eastern plants, this one is so impressive that it warrants a post all of its own. PS: this is an expanded version of my recent post on Instagram/FB.

Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus libani, ‘Arz libnani

The mighty and venerable Cedar of Lebanon is associated with divinity, epic heroism and the exploits of some of the greatest ancient civilisations to come out of the Middle East. It also tells a sad story of destruction, loss and the excesses of human greed.

Native to the Mediterranean basin, Cedrus libani grows at high elevations (1,300 metres+) in the mountains of Lebanon, Syria and southern Turkey. Once, massive cedar forests covered this region, but now only a handful of isolated groves remain. Replanting programmes are taking place in some areas, and measures are being put in place to protect these magnificent trees.

The craze for Cedar started in ancient times, as mighty civilisations rose out of the Fertile Crescent and sought the very best timber for their cities, temples and ships. Cedarwood was highly prized because is strong, durable and resists attacks by insects.

The Cedar plays a starring role the epic of Gilgamesh, a work of literature that is almost 4,000 years old, and based on the exploits of the semi-mythical Sumerian king of Uruk (in modern day Iraq). The oldest written story on earth is eerily prescient for our modern predicament and our ‘battle’ with nature.

Gilgamesh makes a journey to the forest, searching for timber to build a splendid city. He heads for the Cedar forests, protected by the gold Enlil, who makes a prediction that humans will one day enter the forest and destroy it. Gilgamesh goes to battle with the ogre Huwawa, appointed by Enlil as guardian of the forest, , wins, and gets his cedarwood, and thus sadly the prophecy comes true.

After Gilgamesh, other great civilisations sought out the Cedars. The Phoenicians, who originated in the coastal cities of Lebanon and later built a great city in Carthage, and who ruled an empire based on their control of the Mediterranean sea, used cedar to make masts for their mighty boats.

The ancient Egyptians also used Cedar for their boats, as well as for coffins, statues and furniture. Cedar resin was used for embalming mummies, as it acted as a powerful anti-microbial and an insecticide.

And it goes on. King Solomon of Israel imported massive quantities cedarwood from Tyre, in Lebanon, for the First Temple in Jerusalem. Later empires continued the trend. The Roman emperor Hadrian, in typical proprietorial wall-building fashion, claimed the Cedar forests as his personal imperial domain, which at least temporarily halted their destruction. Even the British pilfered some to make railways in the Hijaz during World War One.

In the end, few Cedars survived human avarice and imperial ambition. Those that did include a precious grove protected by Lebanese priests in Ouadi Qadisha, the sacred valley, in northern Lebanon, a site of very early Christianity. These remnants of the ancient forest are known as the Cedars of God. These trees, along with the early Cristian monasteries of Ouadi Qadisha are now protected as a UNESCO world heritage site. It looks like a magnificent place to visit, don’t you think? One day…

And now, a new threat faces the mighty Cedar. Climate change is bringing warmer weather to their cool mountainside habitats. This has led to greater numbers of aphids, which feed on the bark of the trees, and create sugary secretions, which cause sooty mould. Too much of this is damaging for the trees and stunts their growth. Normally, bees would remove the secretions, but they are becoming less active, according to environmentalists in the region. Rising temperatures also mean that the aphids are climbing ever-higher up the mountainsides, and that their season is lasting longer. And widespread deforestation over the centuries is exacerbating the threats, as the land has become drier and scrubby, increasing the risk of wild fires.

Will the mighty Cedar survive? These strong, long-lived trees are tough, but we need to protect them: think less Gilgamesh and more Cedars of God. They tell an old, timeless story, possibly the oldest in the world, and in that story there are surely lessons for us to heed.

Are you enjoying my series on Middle Eastern plants? Let me know what you think in the comments!