Which tree is centered on the national flag of Lebanon?

A cedar tree, specifically the cedar of Lebanon, is centered on Lebanon’s national flag.

The flag has two horizontal red bands surrounding a central white band that is twice their height. A green Lebanese cedar, Cedrus libani, stands in the middle of the white stripe and touches both red bands. The tree is not merely decorative: the cedar has been a longstanding emblem of Lebanon and is associated with endurance, longevity, resilience, and national identity.

Lebanon formally introduced the current design into its Constitution on 7 December 1943, shortly before independence from the French Mandate. The design’s red and white colors have received several historical interpretations, including sacrifice, peace, purity, and Lebanon’s snow-covered mountains.

Older versions often showed the cedar with a brown trunk. A constitutional amendment in 1990 standardized the tree as entirely green, so modern official depictions use a green cedar throughout. The symbol is therefore a cedar, not a generic evergreen, cypress, palm, or olive tree.