Cedrus libani is a species of cedar native to the mountains of the Mediterranean region.

There are two distinct types of Cedrus libani that are considered to be different subspecies or varieties:

Cedrus libani is an evergreen coniferous tree growing up to 40 m (130 ft) tall, with a trunk up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in diameter. The crown is conic when young, becoming broadly tabular with age with fairly level branches.

The shoots are dimorphic, with long shoots and short shoots. The leaves are needle-like, spaced out on the long shoots, and in clusters of 15-45 on the short shoots; they are 5–30 mm (¹⁄₄–1 ³⁄₁₆ in) in length, quadrangular in cross-section, and vary from green to glaucous blue-green with stomatal bands on all four sides. The seed cones are produced often every second year, and mature in 12 months from pollination; mature cones in late autumn are 8–12 cm (3–4 ³⁄₄ in) long and 4–6 cm (1 ¹⁄₂–2 ³⁄₈ in) wide.

Cedrus libani was first classified by the French botanist Achille Richard. There are two distinct types that are considered either as subspecies or varieties:

Nabil Nahas is a notable Artist living in New York, New York. He grew up in Cairo and Beirut, before moving to the United States for his college.

Born in Egypt, Nahas grew up in Cairo and Beruit, then moved to the United States for university studies. He earned a BFA from Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge in 1971 and an MFA from Yale University in 1973. Encounters with contemporary painters at Yale influenced Nahas to move to New York, which he did after graduation. Nahas has been based in New York ever sense.

He has exhibited regularly at important New York galleries and received much critical acclaim for his work. While usually working in an abstract idiom, Nahas has captivated audiences by his continual need for self-re-invention and the high technical finish he lavishes on his work.

Nahas’ paintings have made use of geometric motifs and decorative patterns inspired by the rich history of Islamic art; at the same time, Nahas is thoroughly schooled in the tradition Western abstract painting. Sometimes these two poles combine quite provocatively in his work; usually, they are seamlessly merged into brightly-colored paintings, suggestive of the richness of nature and of the imagination. One of Nahas’ most significant innovations has been his use of the bodies of starfish, sometimes cast in acrylic paint, on top of which he layers high-chroma acrylic paint.