| General Description | This tree is not dense with foliage it is pretty open. It is a pyramidal form, and shiny light green needles. |
| ID Characteristic | Seed cones in early stages are purple. The pollen cones are yellow with
red microsporophylls. Cones stand erect on tree branches. |
| Shape | This tree at early stages keeps broad upright pyramidal until mature
growth. |
| Cultivation | You need a subtropical climate and volcanic soil to plant this tree. This
tree is not tolerant to urban conditions. It needs to also have a 5.5 to 7
pH in the soil to grow. |
| Habitat | This tree is found in South Mexico at very high elevations up to 2500 m
- 3000 m in subtropical environments. Soils are found with traces of
volcanic origins. The climate is cool and moist and rainy in the winters. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark is greyish in colour and it starts off smooth when the tree
matures and it thickens, and from this it breaks up into quadrangular
plates. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The leaf bud starts off being wrapped in a thin orange liner. When it gets
bigger it breaks through and it turns into lime green cone shape with tiny
needles. |
| Leaf Description | The needles can grow from 18 - 35 mm long and 1 - 1.8 mm wide. Shiny
light green in colour. Needles face the sun when in direct sunlight and
the needles in the shade are spirally arranged. The needles are flat and
look like a double edge sword blade with a point at the top. |
| Flower Description | The pollen cones are made off of lateral shoots. These are short yellow, cone shaped with red microsporophylls. |
| Fruit Description | Seed cones are produced by lateral shoots. These are short erect oblong-cylindrical with a round apex. The length of them is 6 - 8 cm and the width is 2.5 to 3.5 cm. It starts off purple and after ripening it turns dark brown. |
| Colour Description | As a sapling the foliage is a bright lime green. When the tree
matures the foliage turns into a shiny light green foliage. The bark of the
tree is greyish in colour. The seed cones start as a purple and as it
matures it turns dark brown. And for the pollen cones are yellow with
red. |
| Texture Description | The texture of the bark is somewhat smooth near the bottom and more
rough near the top. |