What is cedrel?
cedrela is a family of trees with seven species in the family of Mahagon Meliaceae. All trees come from tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. Most of them are evergreen, maintain their leaves throughout the year, but some species are deciduous and lose their leaves in the dry season. The name cedrela means "small cedar" because the wood of trees in this family has similar properties to Cedar, including its smell.
The most common cedrela is c. Odorata , commonly called Spanish, Mexican or West Indian cedar. This species also has the largest range in the genus dating from Mexico to Argentina. The species currently classified as c. Odorata includes what was 28 separate species before 1981. As a result, a large part of the diversity is in this species.
c. Have gray brown bark, leaves in the shape of a scythe and a small whiteflowers. The tree requires well -drained soil, especially limestone, and is tolerant for a long period of drought.
c. Odorata is grown as an ornamental plant, as well as for its wood, which is aromatic, lightweight, durable and naturally resistant to rot and termites. Like True Cedar, the Spanish cedar carries a fragrance that is pleasant for most people, but repels insects. c. Odorata wood is traditionally used to make cigarette boxes and necks of classic and flamenco guitars. It is also popular in furniture, especially pieces used to store clothes. The bark is used in traditional medicine to treat fever, malaria and rheumatism.
was also used in beekeeping for honey production. The tree has a vulnerable state of protection, but it was also naturalized outside his native, in parts of Africa, Hawaii and Southeast Asia. In South Africa, the tree has become an invasive species.
wood of other types cEdrela has many properties in common with c. Odorata , but unusually not used due to poor state of maintaining. Many types of cedrela , such as c. Fissilis and c. c. Montana , a species that grows in Colombia and Ecuador, plunges for extinction due to exaggerating extinction.
Many types of cedrela have a very limited geographical range. c. Salvadorensis and c. Tondduzii grows only in Central America. c. Hirsuta is limited to the Earth of Paraguay and c. Huberi grows only in Argentina.