Cedrela odorata L.

Spanish cedar (en), Cedrat (fr), Acajou amer (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Sapindales > Meliaceae > Cedrela

Characteristics

Tree to 40 m.; branchlets generally glabrous, occasionally conspicuously lenti-cellate, more often with small lenticels. Leaves with 5-11 pairs of leaflets 8-17 cm. long by 2.5-5.5 cm. wide, broadly lanceolate to ovate, the base acute to rounded, often markedly oblique, the apex acuminate obtuse, rarely acute, sometimes mucro-nulate, generally glabrous, occasionally puberulent or short pubescent along the veins beneath. Inflorescences open, variable in size, often shorter than the leaves, usually glabrous, rarely puberulent, the bracts caducous. Flowers 6-9 mm. long; calyx cupulate and split on one side, 1.5-3 mm. deep, the margin generally shal-lowly and irregularly toothed, glabrous, rarely puberulent, light to dark in color; petals elliptical to subspatulate, puberulent without, uniformly light in color; filaments of the stamens thick but usually of uniform diam., the anthers short apicu-late, 0.75-1.5 mm. long; ovary hemispherical to ovoid, usually glabrous, 1-2 mm. long, style 1.5-2 mm. long, the capitate stigma about 0.5 mm. thick. Fruit 2.5-4.5 cm. long, the valves thin, the central column with wings extending to the base of the broadened apex.
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Trees to 10 m tall. Branchlets glabrous, with sparse lenticels. Leaves 30 cm or more; leaflets 17 or 19; petiolules 1-1.5 cm; leaflet blades ovate, oblong, or elliptic, 8-12 × 3.5-4 cm, membranous, both surfaces glabrous, secondary veins 10-12 on each side of midvein and prominent on both surfaces, base rounded and oblique, margin entire or serrate, apex acuminate to acute. Thyrses shorter than leaves, glabrous, branches and branchlets slender. Flowers oblong to ellipsoid, small. Calyx 5-lobed, sparsely pubescent. Petals white, distinct, oblong to elliptic, ca. 8 mm, both surfaces pubescent, apex mucronate. Disk glabrous. Ovary glabrous, with 12 ovules per locule; style glabrous. Capsule oblong to ellipsoid, ca. 4 cm, glabrous, with pale lenticels. Fl. summer.
A tree. It grows 18 m high and spreads 4.5 m wide. The trunk can be 1.5 m across. It has large buttresses. It has an open canopy. The bark is grey or brown and furrowed. The lower limbs curve down. The leaves have leaflets along the stalk. The leaves are 60 cm long. There are 5-12 pairs of leaflets. The flowers are separately male and female but on the same plant. The flowers are small and tube shaped and cream or green. They are in hanging clusters at the ends of branches. The clusters are 15-50 cm long.
Tree up to 30 m. tall.. Leaflets usually 12 to 28, entire, oblong-lanceolate, up to 15 × 6.5 cm., rather suddenly tapered to the relatively short and broad acumen; proximal lateral nerves on lower surface with conspicuous elongate axillary pockets (domatia) with minute marginal hairs or glabrous.. Inflorescence up to 50 cm. long.. Capsule robust, usually 3–4.2 cm. long; valves with conspicuous lenticels.. Fig. 13/1–6.
Deciduous tree to 35(–60) m in wild. Leaves usually paripinnate, usually (5) 6–12 (–15)-jugate. Flowers creamy white, disagreeably scented, in thyrses to 40(–50) cm long. Stamens 5, free. Capsule with broadly 5-winged columella. Seeds 2–3 cm long, winged at one end.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality -
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 4.5
Mature height (meter) 25.2 - 28.7
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.6
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

A tropical plant. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Fiji it is grown near sea level. In Costa Rica it grows from sea level to about 1,200 m altitude. It grows on dry or wet slopes. It is best in well-composted, moist, well-drained soils. It is damaged by drought or frost.
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Widely distributed in wet, primary and secondary evergreen to semi-deciduous lowland or lower montane rainforest.
Light 6-9
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 3-7
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-11

Usage

Source of a valuable timber (cedar)
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The young leaves are eaten.
Uses bee plant environmental use fiber food fuel invertebrate food material medicinal non-vertebrate poison ornamental timber wood
Edible leaves
Therapeutic use Astringent (unspecified), Febrifuge (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Rheumatism (unspecified), Vermifuge (unspecified), Malaria (unspecified), Gastralgia (unspecified), Mouth (unspecified), Tonic (unspecified), Toothache (unspecified), Dyspepsia (unspecified), Eruption (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. They can also be grown by cuttings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -7
Optimum temperature (C°) 22 - 32
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Cedrela odorata habit picture by JP Corrêa Carvalho (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Cedrela odorata leaf picture by JP Corrêa Carvalho (cc-by-sa)
Cedrela odorata leaf picture by Daniel Barthelemy (cc-by-sa)
Cedrela odorata leaf picture by Moya Verny Moya (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Cedrela odorata fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Cedrela odorata fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)
Cedrela odorata fruit picture by Nelson Zamora Villalobos (cc-by-nc)

Distribution

Cedrela odorata world distribution map, present in Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Bangladesh, Bahamas, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Barbados, China, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Guinea, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Guatemala, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, India, Iceland, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Mozambique, Montserrat, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, El Salvador, Sao Tome and Principe, Suriname, eSwatini, Trinidad and Tobago, Taiwan, Province of China, United States of America, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), and South Africa

Conservation status

Cedrela odorata threat status: Vulnerable

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:51010-2
WFO ID wfo-0000592446
COL ID RZZT
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 447325
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Surenus mexicana Surenus paraguariensis Cedrela adenophylla Cedrela amara Cedrela guianensis Cedrela hassleri Cedrela huberi Cedrela longipes Cedrela occidentalis Cedrela odorata Cedrela palustris Cedrela paraguariensis Cedrela vellozoana Cedrela whitfordii Surenus guianensis Surenus glaziovii Cedrela brownei Cedrela brachystachya Cedrela caldasana Cedrela cedro Cedrela cubensis Cedrela glaziovii Cedrela mexicana Cedrela mourae Cedrela sintenisii Cedrela yucatana Cedrela brownii Cedrus odorata Surenus brownei Surenus vellozoana Cedrela mexicana var. puberula Cedrela paraguariensis var. brachystachya Cedrela paraguariensis var. hassleri Cedrela paraguariensis var. multijuga Cedrela odorata var. xerogeiton Cedrela imparipinnata Cedrela rotunda Cedrela odorata