Cedar

lat. Cedrus, family Pinaceae.

Group: Woods and Mosses

Cedar, also known as Cedrus, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae, native to the mountains of Himalaya and the Mediterranean region. The oil obtained from cedarwood is one of the oldest ingredients used in perfumery. Cedarwood has a distinctive woody, spicy-resinous scent that has been used as a base note of many famous perfumes. Cedarwood is also one of the most commonly used perfumery notes, mentioned at least once in the fragrant opus of every perfumer.

Cedar is an evergreen tree that grows up to 30–40 meters, and has a silvery blue or greenish needle-shaped leaves tipped with yellow flowers. The bark of a tree is reddish to brown, even though a precise description depends on the type of a tree. True cedars are native to North African and Asian mountain regions, and commonly found in Lebanon, Deodar and Atlas. Lebanon Cedar (Cedrus libani) is distinguished by its cones with smooth scales; Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara) has a bright green to pale green cones, while Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantica) has a distinctive a silvery gray bark and blue-green needled leaves. Although termed cedarwood oils, most of the oils belonging to this aromatic group are obtained from distilling junipers and cypresses rather than true cedars. For unknown reasons, the natural forests of true cedar have nearly disappeared. Even though a national flag of Lebanon features a stylized image of cedar, the most famous cedar forest in this country now includes only 375 trees. In the ancient times, this was an immense green forest that spread across the Mount Lebanon.

Red Virginia cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Texas cedar (Juniperus mexicana), and Chinese cedar (Chamaecyparis funebris) are the main sources of cedarwood oil used in perfumery today. This tree contains chemical components responsible for enchanting scent of woody and ambery types of fragrances. Cedarwood is very aromatic and known to be a natural repellent to moths and other insects. For this reason, it is often used for chests that store clothing and blankets, and for shoe trees that can absorb moisture and de-odorise.

Cedar oil is obtained from the foliage, and sometimes the wood and roots of the tree. The essence is derived in the process of steam distillation with the yield from wood chips and sawdust of somewhere about 35 %. Cedar wood oil is yellowish or brown in color and has a characteristic, clean, balsamic woody odor with a pale undertone of sandalwood. The oil was used as the base for paints by the ancient Sumerians and in the ancient Egyptian embalming practices. In aromatherapy, it is used to calm and balance the energies, promote spirituality, cure urinary tract infections, clear up dandruff and help to discharge phlegm. Today, we mainly use cedarwood oil for its aromatic properties, in a range of fragrance applications.

This deep base note has a typical dry and woody scent that beautifully supports higher and cheerful mid-notes of the fragrant composition. You will not go wrong if you think of cedarwood as of a grounding note. It is very calming and pure, combines very well with citrusy notes, and often encountered in fragrances for men. One of the good examples of this note is Christopher Sheldrake’s woody floral musk unisex fragrance Bois de Violette, in which cedar is combined with violet, violet and violet leaf. The whole Boix range of Serge Lutens offers note of cedar in various interpretations: oriental-woody in Bois et Fruits and Bois Oriental, tender musky in Bois et Musc, and warm and spicy in Cedre. Gourmand composition of Jo Malone’s Sweet Lime & Cedar uses this note to beautifully curve out sharpness of aromatic leaves, delicate flowers and spices.

Other fragrances that contain cedar can be found in our search for notes.