In the flora of Russia there is coniferous trees, which are universally called cedars. Siberian “cedar” will be discussed below. The word “cedar” is in quotation marks for a reason - in fact, this species belongs to the botanical genus of pine - Pinus, while real cedars belong to a completely different genus - Cedrus. In our country, there are no true cedars growing wild, and they have very limited use in landscaping - only for Black Sea coast Krasnodar region, as they are very thermophilic.

Botanical characteristics of Siberian pine

Siberian pine or cedar or Siberian cedar- Pinus sibirica Du Tour - large evergreen tree from the pine family (Pinoceae), 20-25 (up to 35) m high, with a dense crown. The trunk is up to 1.5 m in diameter, with brownish-gray furrowed bark. Young trees have lighter and smoother bark. There are two types of shoots: elongated and shortened. Young elongated shoots are reddish due to pubescence. The root system is well developed, consisting of a taproot and strong lateral roots.
The leaves are located on the shoots in bunches of 5 needles (an important feature that distinguishes Siberian pine from ordinary pine, which has only 2 leaves in a bunch). The leaves-needles are narrow-linear, needle-shaped, triangular in cross-section, from 5 to 12 cm long, dark green, with bluish stripes on the sides, formed by rows of stomata. The needle lives up to 6 years.
The plants are monoecious, that is, on one individual both male and female generative organs develop, collected in spikelets. Pine, like all gymnosperms, does not have flowers or true fruits. Male spikelets are red, located at the base of the elongated shoots, and female spikelets are purple, located 2-4 in their upper part. Pollen disperses in June, after which the male spikelets fall off. Fertilized ovules develop into seeds, and the entire female spikelet transforms into a kind of organ - a cone, consisting of an axis to which woody light brown scales are attached.
2 seeds are placed in the axils of each scale. They ripen in September of the year following fertilization. Mature cones are 5-8 (up to 13) cm long with a diameter of 3-5 (up to 8) cm; when ripe, they do not open, but fall off entirely, along with the seeds. The seeds are dark brown, 10-12 cm long, they are called “pine nuts”. Seeds are distributed by nutcrackers, chipmunks, squirrels, sables and other forest animals. The yield of pine nuts in the most productive pine forests reaches 640 kg/ha. Abundant harvests seeds are repeated at significant intervals - 3-10 years.
During germination, seeds are brought to the surface by 10 large cotyledons. Cedar pine grows slowly throughout its life. Trees begin to produce seeds for the first time at 25-30 years of age if they grow in the wild, and in plantations - no earlier than 50 years of age. Siberian pine lives up to 500 (according to some sources up to 850) years.

Distribution of Siberian pine

Range of Siberian pine lies almost entirely within Russia, with only its southern edge entering Mongolia and Kazakhstan. This forest species grows in about a third of the entire forest zone of our country. Siberian pine forests and forests with a noticeable presence of pine pine occupy 40,600,000 hectares. They are common in the mountains and plains of the northeastern regions European Russia(from the upper reaches of the Vychegda River), almost throughout Western and Eastern Siberia. These forests are called dark coniferous taiga.
Siberian pine is shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, and demanding of soil and air moisture. It prefers loam and sandy loam, although it can grow on rocks and even in sphagnum bogs.

Other related species of Siberian pine

Very close to the Siberian pine is the dwarf pine - Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel, which is often called dwarf cedar. Until recently, many botanists even considered dwarf cedar to be a variety of Siberian pine.
Cedar elfin wood - coniferous evergreen shrub with a curved trunk and creeping branches, rising above the soil surface by only 0.5-2 m. Less often, it is a small tree 4-7 m high. Young shoots are densely pubescent with yellow-brown hairs. The needles are 4-8 cm long, bluish-green, hard, triangular, with small jagged edges, and stay on the branches for 2-4 years.
The dwarf cones are formed in the same way as those of the Siberian pine, extremely similar to them, but somewhat smaller in size - 3.5-4.5 cm long and 2.5-3 cm in diameter. They also develop in two summer seasons. The cones of the first year, when the seeds have not yet grown in them, are reddish-violet; in the second year they turn brown and by the time the seeds ripen, that is, by autumn, they become dark brown. The seeds (they are also called “pine nuts”) are about 8 mm long and 4-6 mm in diameter.
The dwarf cedar is widespread throughout Eastern Siberia and Far East, from Tunkinskie Goltsy and Western Baikal region in the southwest of the range to the river basin. Anadyr in Chukotka, as well as in Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Kuril Islands, in the Amur region, Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories. Total area occupied by dwarf dwarf thickets in our country exceeds 24 million hectares. Outside Russia, it is known in Japan, Korea, China, and Mongolia.
Dwarf dwarf forms continuous, difficult-to-pass thickets on the upper border of the forest. It has a wide ecological amplitude, thanks to which it successfully grows in a wide variety of (usually harsh) conditions - from sandy sediments river valleys And sea ​​coasts to peat bogs on permafrost and stone placers in the highlands. Able to form adventitious roots on branches in contact with the soil and produce layering.
Like Siberian pine, dwarf seeds are called nuts in everyday life. They are a little smaller, but in terms of taste and nutritional qualities they are also rich in protein, sugars and valuable oil, which has nutritional and technical significance. The nut yield in dense thickets reaches 200 kg/ha. From them you can prepare “nut milk” - a delicious nutritious drink containing vitamin B. The value of dwarf pine nuts is especially great for regions where there are no other plants producing edible nuts.
Wood is a very high-calorie fuel, often the only fuel for residents of northeast Russia. Among the indigenous population, infusions, decoctions and extracts from dwarf cedar needles and branches have long been considered the strongest antiscorbutic remedy. Slanik is an excellent refuge and important source nutrition of many valuable fur-bearing animals: squirrels, ermine, sable, etc.
IN folk medicine The pine branches (“paws”) were used for medicinal baths for rheumatism.

Economic use of Siberian pine

Siberian pine is one of the most economically valuable coniferous species. Its wood is soft, light, at the same time dense and quite durable. It is pinkish-yellow, has a beautiful texture, a pleasant smell, is easy to process, and polishes well. Cedar pine wood is valued as construction and ornamental material. It is used in housing construction for the construction of house walls and roofs, as well as for interior decoration. Pencils are made from it. Due to its good acoustic properties, Siberian pine wood is used for making musical instruments.
However, sawing cedar pine for wood is an action close to a crime. This tree is one of the most valuable wild food plants. Seeds (“pine nuts”) are used for food, which combine excellent taste and nutritional qualities. Nut kernels contain fatty oil (up to 28%), proteins (more than 8%), starch (up to 5.5%), vitamins A, B, E, phosphorus salts, microelements (manganese, copper, zinc, iodine). Nuts are used in fresh, are used to extract oil from them by cold pressing, which is close in quality to the best varieties almond and Provençal, which are in wide demand not only in cooking, but also in the canning industry and medicine. Nut cakes are used in the confectionery industry to make cakes, pastries, halva and other products.
Less quality oil, obtained from pine nuts by hot pressing or solvent extraction, is mainly used for technical purposes: it is used in soap making, in the production of varnishes and drying oils. After additional refining, this oil is also suitable for food consumption.
Found it practical application and pine nut shells. Activated carbon is made from it, the adsorption capacity of which is 2 times higher than that of birch, which is considered (and quite rightly) the best. From the shell you get good brown paint for skin.

Medicinal value of Siberian pine and methods of medicinal use

Various parts of Siberian pine have medicinal uses. Its needles contain valuable essential oil, vitamin C, carotene (provitamin A), therefore, an infusion of pine needles or “cedar paws” (young pine twigs) is used as an antiscorbutic agent. The resin from the trunks is rightly called “resin” for its ability to heal wounds. In Rus', oleoresin was used to treat purulent wounds, ulcers, boils, burns and cuts.
Experts say that even advanced gastric ulcers can be quickly cured with life-giving resin. The viscous amber resin is kept in the mouth, licked off with the tongue, or water infusions are made. Bleeding wounds filled with resin heal and begin to heal on the second day. But an ulcer is also a wound, only on the wall of the stomach.

Velmi cedar tree resin is a drying agent.
If we anoint our face with this resin, a sign appears on the cream after smallpox,
and so the signs will be ironed and your face will become clean.

The resin is mixed with unleavened honey and diluted with some kind of drink, and a little salt is mixed into it, and then we give the drink to those who have been stung by creeping reptiles, and the disease will be removed from the stoma (stomach) and the splenic ulcers will heal.

Pine nuts are of great value, and not only as a delicious product.
Scientists have now established that pine nuts contain various substances, helping to maintain high performance, improve blood composition, growth of the human body, treat tuberculosis, kidney diseases, anemia.
Russian manufacturers use pine nut shells to make alcohol solutions that are used in the treatment of arthritis, gout, articular rheumatism, stomach and liver diseases, as well as leukemia and hemorrhoids. Moreover, this effective remedy to cleanse the body and remove radionuclides.
Cedar oil, in addition to its high nutritional, dietary, and healing properties, also has cosmetic properties. It ideally combines environmentally friendly fats, carbohydrates and a complex of vitamins and microelements. All this has a positive effect on a person’s well-being and life expectancy.

Cedar nuts- a medicine known since ancient times. Back in the 18th century. Academician P. S. Pallas, who visited Siberia with an expedition, noted that pine nuts restore male strength, return youth to a person. The most popular is milk made from kernels: they are ground, gradually adding water. A fragrant white emulsion is formed, which significantly improves tone, causing a surge of strength and vigor. You can drink 2-3 tea cups a day.

A decoction and tincture of pine nut shells is used for hemorrhoids, uterine bleeding and blood diseases, especially leukemia.

The shells of naturally dried nuts are poured into a dark bottle up to the level of the “shoulders”, without compacting, filled with vodka until the cork is filled and infused in a warm, dark place for 8-10 days. Take 1 teaspoon before meals 3-4 times a day.
Cedar is ruled by the Sun and is healing for those born under the sign of Leo.

Currently on the market finishing materials There are many types of lining available. Paneling made from pine and cedar of various types has become widespread. In this article we will look at some of the features of lining made from Altai cedar, and also tell you how to distinguish it from materials made from other types of wood.

This lining is unique in its own way, since the Gorno-Altai cedar, from the wood of which it is made, grows exclusively in the Altai mountains; it no longer grows in any other regions of Russia or the world. Untouched nature, the special climatic and geophysical conditions in which these trees grow give the wood special and unique properties. Residents of these places believe that these trees emit positive energy, drive away evil spirits and improve human health. Scientific research confirm that Altai cedars have a whole range of distinctive features and it is not for nothing that they have been considered extraordinary and very valuable since ancient times.

According to data obtained from scientific research, Altai cedars, compared to other Siberian cedars, have almost 2 times the density and higher strength indicators. In terms of wood's resistance to rotting, it is superior not only to such a popular material as pine, but is also identical to larch, which is recognized as practically the standard for this parameter.

Now let's move on to the question of how lining made from Altai cedar differs and how not to confuse it with materials from other types of wood.

First of all, you should pay attention to the color. It should have slightly pinkish tints; by the way, after a while your cedar lining will darken a little and acquire a reddish-pink color, which will give the interior nobility and make it more sophisticated.

Second characteristic feature– an indescribable aroma, you will not confuse it with anything else, it is a fairly strong and very pleasant pine smell with unique notes inherent only to this breed.

The lining made from Canadian cedar, unlike our Altai cedar, is darker, the color is close to brown or deep red, the smell from the wood is barely perceptible. Far Eastern or Karelian cedar is slightly brown in color, just like its Canadian counterpart does not have a strong aroma, so it is difficult to confuse these species with their Altai relative if you carefully choose.

A separate question is how to distinguish Altai cedar lining from pine? Everything is quite simple - cedar wood is much lighter, it has a smoother and more uniform texture. Despite the fact that pine also emits a noticeable pine aroma, it is not as pleasant and strong as cedar. The pine smell should be familiar to you if you have eaten pine nuts, and once you smell it, you can’t confuse it with anything else. Also, in pine wood more resin, which not only worsens the appearance, but also makes this material unsuitable for finishing a steam room.

So, let's repeat the key distinctive features linings from Gorno-Altai cedar:

• color;
• texture;
• resinousness;
• smell.

Based on the above, we recommend that you take a responsible approach to the choice of finishing materials and turn your attention to cedar lining and imitation timber from Tsar-Kedr, which have a number of amazing qualities.

Cedar and pine are coniferous trees. At first glance, they are very similar, but in reality this is not the case at all. In order to distinguish trees, you should know not only them external features. They differ significantly in the specifics of their growth.

How to distinguish cedar from pine? This is what is presented short story in this article.

General information

Today the number is tens of times higher than the number of cedar species. And it grows in wider areas. In addition, variability in sizes and birth characteristics pine has much more variety.

It is less capricious to the soil, since its powerful and long roots go deep into the ground, and therefore the tree feeds on nutrients and moisture from the deep layers of the earth.

Places of growth

Cedars grow in the subtropics of the mountainous Crimea, the Mediterranean and the Himalayas. Depending on the name of the area where they grow, they are divided into types: Himalayan, Crimean, Lebanese, etc.

Pines grow more in temperate regions subtropical climate North America and Eurasia. In total, scientists identify 200 varieties of this coniferous plant. Both cedar and pine are evergreen trees. Various natural conditions They also create various forms of plants from bushes to trees with huge crowns.

Peculiarities

How do cedar and pine grow? Cedar is a monoecious evergreen plant, and the height of the tree with an impressive spreading crown can reach up to 50 meters. The needles, collected in bunches, have a spiral arrangement. Each needle-like needle has a triangular shape and is painted in emerald-steel color. Cedar cones, arranged singly and shaped like a barrel, stand on the shoots like candles. They ripen in the second or third year of formation.

Pine, which also has long or shortened needles. Needles of two to five pieces are also collected in a bunch. When damage appears on a tree, rosettes form at this place, from which needles gradually grow. The color of the needles depends on climate conditions and soil composition. It can vary from rich green to light with a silver tint. Pine cones are oblong in shape and hang from the branches.

Wood

How does cedar differ from pine when using their wood as a building material?

Materials made from many coniferous woods, due to their characteristics, are widely used in the construction of bathhouses, houses, gazebos and other objects. The material is popular in interior decoration. But it should be noted that coniferous species are different and have differences in quality.

How to distinguish cedar from pine? How not to make a mistake in choosing material for construction? The properties of these two breeds are similar in many ways, and yet there are some differences. Pine is subject to severe drying out, so this is not very durable material. In addition, after drying it appears deep furrows. Cedar in this regard is slightly different from pine; it also has other positive aspects, the main ones of which are the following: beneficial influence per person and maintaining the original appearance more long time.

A little about the benefits of pine cones

It should be noted the benefits of pine cones. Absolutely all parts of the plant are used in folk medicine. Its fruits are especially beneficial.

Pine cones are a treasure trove large quantity useful substances. Young buds, rich in valuable biologically active compounds, are very useful. They are used in folk medicine for the following purposes:

In conclusion

The main differences between cedar and pine:

• The plant is taller than a pine tree.
• It has a longer lifespan (up to approximately 800 years) compared to pine (up to 120 years).
• Flowering occurs later.
• Fewer grooves in the wood.
• Thermal conductivity is 30% less than that of pine, which is associated with greater porosity.

This tree is called Siberian cedar. Although botanists dispute the name - and rightly so: it does not belong to the genus Cedar, but is closely related to pine trees. This one is called biological species Siberian pine (in Latin Pinus sibirica). Sometimes “cedar” is added. Since we are not specialists - taxonomists, we do not go into such subtleties; we call the tree as is customary. It can be called differently - cedar, and Siberian pine - it is important that we understand what we are talking about... And really, what should we do now if in Siberia forests of Siberian pine are called “cedars”? Don't rename...

First of all Siberian cedar- a very beautiful tree! Slender, covered with thick, long and soft needles. Take a closer look - the Siberian cedar has five long needles in a bunch, and not two, like . The needles are triangular, dark green, covered with a waxy coating. The bark also differs in color - in Siberian cedar it is grayish-brown. The crown is dense, with thick branches. Escapes last year stand out for their color - they are rather silver-brown.

The tree grows very slowly. Apparently, this is the reason why cedar grows so slender. He can live for a long time - up to five hundred years, and maybe more. And only at 50-60 years old does the Siberian cedar begin to bear fruit. Then female cones appear on the tops of young shoots, in which seed scales with two ovules are located under the covering scales. And near the base of the shoot of the last year, male cones grow, and pollen ripens in them. It is carried by the wind (as, indeed, in all pine trees).

The seeds of Siberian cedar ripen in cones for more than a year. They are very different from the seeds of Scots pine! Large - about a centimeter in length, more than half a centimeter in thickness - they are called “pine nuts” (although, from the point of view of biologists, they are not nuts!). They do not have any wings and cannot be carried by the wind, like Scots pine seeds, if only because of their weight. But taiga animals - the squirrel, the chipmunk, the nutcracker bird - take the most part in distributing seeds. active participation. Some of their winter supplies may be forgotten and lost. And then in the spring the seeds from such a “storehouse” germinate.

The seeds ripen by the end of summer of the year following pollination, in August. The cones dry out, become less resinous and begin to fall from the trees. It is then that the collection of “pine nuts” (the so-called “pine cone fight”) begins in places where Siberian pine grows massively. Previously, this process was quite strictly regulated by peasant communities. Then the state took over this function. What is happening now, we, who live far from the cedar trees, can only guess...

Pine nuts are eaten both directly and as part of different dishes. They are very useful, as they contain almost all the amino acids, B vitamins, vitamins E and K that we need. Siberian pine seeds are rich in microelements - manganese, zinc, iron, copper, magnesium, phosphorus. And yet, pine nuts are mainly used to produce pine nut oil.

Pine nuts contain a lot of polyunsaturated fatty acids. If they are extracted from the seeds, you will get valuable cedar oil, which can be used both in cooking and in medicinal purposes. It is superior in quality to olive oil! But when buying it, you need to make sure that you are buying a truly valuable product. The fact is that to extract oil there is several ways. The first one is cold pressed. The seeds are placed under a press and the oil is squeezed out of them. It is cold-pressed oil that should be used for medical purposes, as well as in cosmetics. There are also several methods of hot pressing. Basically, they are all similar in that the chopped nuts are heated and then pressed. In this case, the oil yield is greater, but its value decreases, since many substances are destroyed when heated. This oil is used in cooking. And finally, there is extraction. What is it? To extract the oil, a solvent is added to the seeds (for example, it can be gasoline), and then the oil and this same solvent are separated. I think there is no need to talk about the “health benefits” of the latest product. So it makes sense to buy cedar oil only from well-known sellers, asking for documents about where and how it was produced. Naturally, cold-pressed oil will also be the most expensive. The cake remaining after pressing the oil is used in cooking and in the confectionery industry.

Siberian cedar pine (Siberian cedar) grows naturally in Eastern and Western Siberia, in Altai, the Urals and the northeast of the Russian Plain. One might think that this tree was once distributed much further to the west, since there is a European pine, close relative Siberian, inhabitant of the Carpathians. Perhaps during the last glaciation, which occurred 25 - 12 thousand years ago, the area was dissected by a glacier. Subsequently, developing in isolation, these plants gradually diverged in a number of characteristics, and two separate species arose.

Siberian cedar has long been successfully grown by foresters in many places in Russia. Such groves of Siberian pine exist in the Arkhangelsk (near Koryazhma) and Vologda regions (near Veliky Ustyug, not far from Ustyuzhna). There are cedar plantations in both the central and northwestern regions of Russia. There are cedar nurseries where this tree is grown. And in the park of Illarion Ivanovich Dudorov in the north of the Vologda region they are also growing up cedar pines. I think there is great meaning maintain and disseminate this tradition. We can get (more precisely, of course, not us, not even our children, but our great-grandchildren!) the most valuable forest species.

How to distinguish a log house made of cedar from a log house made of pine?

Cedar like building material, known to mankind since ancient times. We can find references to this in the Bible. Today, this wood is used when building luxury cedar houses, bathhouses, country buildings, etc.

Benefits of cedar wood

Cedar compares favorably with all other types of wood, including conifers. Its obvious advantages include:

• Durability. Houses made of cedar last a surprisingly long time. They easily tolerate the scorching sun and bitter frosts. Resistant to sudden temperature changes and moisture.
• Aesthetic qualities. Cedar is an excellent building material created by nature itself. Its wood has a beautiful texture and rich color scheme, from light amber to dark chocolate color. A cedar log house is valued for its unusual, attractive appearance.
• Environmental friendliness. Cedar wood, being a wonderful natural antiseptic, has a beneficial effect on health. Phytoncides secreted by cedar destroy pathogenic microbes and give the air in the room healing properties. The cedar aroma in the house lasts for many years.
• Air permeability and heat saving. The peculiarity of walls built from cedar is that they “breathe”. The air in such a room does not stagnate, and excess moisture is removed. I would also like to note that cedar has excellent thermal insulation properties. All this together creates a comfortable microclimate. It's nice to be in such a room.
• Practicality. Cedar is plastic, easy to process and at the same time has high strength. It is not subject to the decomposing effects of a humid atmosphere, and therefore is resistant to the formation of mold, rot and fungi. Bark beetles avoid it.

What is the difference between cedar and pine?

IN lately, thanks to the above properties, cedar houses are gaining more and more popularity. However, their cost can be 1.5 - 2 times higher than similar pine buildings. And logs made from these materials, at first glance, are very similar, which some unscrupulous suppliers take advantage of by passing off pine wood as cedar.

To determine what the log house is actually made of, you need to pay attention to the smell. Cedar has a pronounced, characteristic balsamic aroma, while pine has a weaker, unobtrusive pine spirit. As for the color, the yellowish tint of the wood in pine logs is more pronounced and it darkens more slowly in the open air. Cedar logs can be identified by their pink core, which pink color, not like pine.