Bob:
Good call on the "Spanish Cedar". The botany of trees is a challenging endeavor.
We have a tree here in the northwest everyone calls "Cedar" which is actually a Western Red Cedar that you use to make shingles and shakes and fencing. It is not a Cedar but genus Thuja, and Arborvitae. We also have the aromatic Cedar that you use to make cedar chests and cedar closets. Again, this is actually a Lawson's False Cypress tree, a member of the Cupressacea's (the Cypress family). They also have a cedar in Texas that I've only read about that I'm not sure if it is a true cedar. The true Cedars, genus Cedrus, are found in Lebanon, North Africa, and the eastern U.S. King Solomon is said to have built the temple in Jerusalem with Lebanon Cedar. No doubt an expensive proposition in that era. Our most common softwood tree, the Douglas fir, is not a fir at all, but actually in the hemlock family. And on and on.
The Capitol grounds in Sacramento Ca. is a botanical wonder. They have several city blocks of original plantings from 1867 of all manner of both California native and imported tree that you can think of. I'm sure I was boring my friend to death as I went all around the grounds looking at all the different species. Sacramento is one of those places where it almost never freezes, so they can grow just about anything.
Botany is a great subject. Something I enjoy a great deal.
Wes H.
P.S. I have Lawson's False Cypress trees in my back yard. Everyone thinks they are Western Red Cedars because they look so much alike. You can easily tell the difference if you look at the cones they produce.