seeds of Cedrus atlantica known as Atlas cedar

Seeds of Cedrus atlantica alsp known as Atlas-cedar

Cedrus atlantica belongs to the family of the Pinaceae. It is also known as the Atlas cedar, named after its home the Atlas Mountains (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco).
Cedrus atlantica grows as an evergreen tree. The treetop is mostly cone shaped, but this can vary between the individuals so that it is not always easy to determine only from the habit which tree is a C. atlantica and which one not. The tree can reach a height of 20 to 40 m and can get 900 years old.
The needles of C. atlantica are dark green to silver blue. They are 2 cm long and 1 mm wide. They stand together in little clusters just like it is known from the larch. One individual has as well female and male flowers. The female flowers are green to red and ovate spikes. The male ones are yellowish spikes; they get orange to brown when they are out of bloom. It can take 25 years until C. atlantica blooms for the first time.
The cones are about 6 cm long and can get 4 cm in diameter. They are light green and get brownish after 3 years when they are ripe. The cones do not fall down the tree as a whole. They crumble away at the tree until there is only a wooden spindle left on the branch. The seeds have wings because they are distributed by the wind, as known from the conifers.
With a kind of distillation oil can be gained from the wood. It is used for massages.
Some allium species grow next to the roots of C. atlantica. The wood is also used to produce parquet floors. Furthermore the rasped wood is used as a kind of incence sticks which has a very pleasant odor.

Cultivation from seeds:

C. atlantica likes substrates with sand and clay. It is winter hardy and can stand temperatures from about minus 18 °C. Sometimes branches break when there is too much snow. The seeds from C. atlantica are undemanding and germinate fast.