Taxodium mucronatum

Mexican cypress (Taxodium mucronatum ) the "Tree of Tule ".

Called The Mexican cypress (Taxodium mucronatum ), and Montezuma cypress, Mexican cypress and Ahuehuete, is one of the two plant species in the genus of bald cypress (Taxodium ) from the family of the cypress family ( Cupressaceae ). Ahuehuete is a word from the Nahuatl, that is translated in Spanish as " viejos de agua " (literally " the ancients of water" ) and points to the aging and the water requirements of these tree species. The Mexican cypress is the Mexican national tree since 1921.

Description

The Mexican cypress is a large, evergreen or semi-evergreen tree that usually reaches stature heights of 40 meters and trunk diameter of 1 to 3 meters. The spirally arranged and stacked in two horizontal layers leaves are ten to twenty millimeters in length and one or two millimeters wide.

The Mexican cypress is monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). The oval pins have a length of 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters and a diameter of 1 to 2 centimeters.

The thickest tree

The Mexican cypress holds a world record, because a rezentes copy is the tree with the largest diameter, ie the stoutest tree in the world. This stately tree is called " El Arbol del Tule " (Spanish for "Tree of Tule " ) or " El Gigante " (Spanish for " the giant " ) and stands in the courtyard of the church of the village of Santa María del Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico. It has a trunk diameter of 11.42 meters ( another source: 14,05 meters ) and a tribe of 58 meters. However, this type is in competition with the giant sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum), which should be " thickest tree in the world " with specified diameters of up to 12 m at the base of the well.

In this swamp cypress species is also one of the longest-lived trees in the world. The "Tree of Tule " is 2000 years old ( other sources attribute 4000-6000 years ).

Dissemination

The species is native to many parts of Mexico. The southernmost occurrence is found in the highlands of southern Mexico and the northernmost natural site located in the southernmost part of Texas (USA) ( in the lower valley of the Rio Grande). Even Guatemala is indicated as locality. Natural reserves are located mainly near the river.

System

Synonyms for Taxodium mucronatum Ten. are Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. var mucronatum ( Ten. ) A.Henry, Taxodium distichum Kunth, Taxodium mexicanum Carr., Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. var mexicanum ( Carr. ) Gordon, Cuprespinnata mexicana ( Carr. ) J.Nelson.

Swell

• Christopher J. Earle: Taxodium mucronatum. In: The Gymnosperm Database. December 21, 2010, accessed on 24 October 2011 ( English).