Hesperocyparis lusitanica

Central American and Mexican species of western cypress

Hesperocyparis lusitanica, the Mexican cypress, cedar-of-Goa or Goa cedar, is a species of conifer in the cypress family, Cupressaceae, native to Mexico and Central America (Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras). It has also been introduced to Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, growing at 1,200–3,000 metres (3,900–9,800 ft) altitude. The scientific name lusitanica (of Portugal) refers to its very early cultivation there, with plants imported from Mexico to the monastery at Buçaco, near Coimbra in Portugal in about 1634; these trees were already over 130 years old when the species was botanically described by Miller in 1768.

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