Mulanje Cedar, Widdringtonia whytei

"The Mulanje cedar was first noted by the Scottish missionary Robert Cleland when he climbed onto the Mulanje plateau in 1888 and ‘discovered himself in another world … with here and there clumps of a tree unknown beyond the mountain’" - Julian Bayliss, Saving the Island in the Sky: the plight of the Mount Mulanje cedar Widdringtonia whytei in Malawi, 2007 As the national tree of Malawi, the Mulanje Cedar is notable for its distinct smell and fine timber. It was first commercially exploited in the late 19th century, resulting in widespread degradation of the delicate ecosystem on Mount Mulanje, where the tree grows. It is no longer legal to harvest the tree, but the species is still under threat from forest fires, invasive species, mining, and illegal logging.