Hello, I'm working with some wood that's supposed to be "royal cedar", or cedrella odorata. It's very, very similar to "spanish cedar", and indeed is sold as such. What I've noticed about the wood I'm using is that it is much LESS aromatic than the spanish cedar I've worked with in the past. I'm just diving into a google search, but I'm having trouble finding information that would allow me to positively distinguish between the two. It looks like "spanish cedar" comprises a number of different species.... ....wait a minute. It now appears that cedrella (cedrela) odorata *is* spanish cedar. Hmmm... I just like to know what species I'm working with when I work it. Off to google. Further bulletins as events warrant. JP
Spanish cedar is sold using several different species:
(1) It's not spanish (2) It's not cedar (3) It's a member of the mahogany family
It's gonna be tough to really know what you got.
It's doubtful the people you bought from know what it really is.
Here is blurb on spanish cedar......
Cedrela is a genus of seven species in the mahogany family Meliaceae. They are evergreen or dry-season deciduous trees with pinnate leaves, native to the tropical and subtropical New World, from southern Mexico south to northern Argentina.
Species
Cedrela fissilis Vell. - Costa Rica south to Argentina
Cedrela hirsuta C. DC. - Paraguay
Cedrela lilloi C. DC. - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador
Cedrela montana Moritz ex Turcz - Colombia, Ecuador
Cedrela odorata L. (Cedro Hembra) - West Indies and from 24°N in Mexico south to 28°S in Argentina
Cedrela salvadorensis Standl. - Central America
Cedrela tonduzii C. DC. - Central America
Cedrela odorata is the commonest species in the genus, widespread in seasonally dry tropical and subtropical forests; it is deciduous in the dry season which may last several months. C. lilloi and C. montana occur at higher altitudes in moister conditions, and are evergreen or only briefly deciduous.
These additional names have been published, but are not now accepted as distinct taxa (see Pennington & Styles 1981): C. angustifolia, C. balansae, C. barbata, C. boliviana, C. brunelliodes, C. ciliolata, C. discolor, C. febrifuga, C. guanensis, C. mexicana, C. oaxacensis, C. occidentalis, C. pacayana, C. paraguariensis, C. rosei, C. rotunda, C. saxatilis, C. sintenisii, C. steinbachii, C. velutina.
Some authors take a wider view of the genus, and include the related Asian - Australasian genus Toona in Cedrela.
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