Amongst Conifers Cedrus is especially noteworthy; it is represented by geographical races in the north-west Himalaya, in Syria, Cyprus and North Africa.
The only timber in ordinary use obtained from the Himalaya proper is the deodar, Cedrus deodara.
Cedrus Libani, the far-famed Cedar of Lebanon, is a tree which, on account of its beauty, stateliness and strength, has always been a favourite with poets and painters, and which, in the figurative language of prophecy, is frequently employed in the Scriptures as a symbol of power, prosperity and longevity.
The genus Cedrus contains two other species closely allied to C. Libani - Cedrus Deodara, the deodar, or "god tree" of the Himalayas, and Cedrus atlantica, of the Atlas range, North Africa.
The members of the genus Larix are distinguished from the firs, with which they were formerly placed, by their deciduous leaves, scattered singly, as in Abies, on the young shoots of the season, but on all older branchlets growing in whorl-like tufts, each surrounding the extremity of a rudimentary or abortive branch; they differ from cedars (Cedrus), which also have the fascicles of leaves on arrested branchlets, not only in the deciduous leaves, but in the cones, the scales of which are thinner towards the apex, and are persistent, remaining attached long after the seeds are discharged.