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{{SPlantbox
{{SPlantbox
|familia=Pinaceae
|familia=Pinaceae
|genus=Abies
|genus=Abies
|species=religiosa
|species=religiosa
|common_name=Mexican fir
|common_name=Mexican fir
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=10
|max_zone=10
|image=Upload.png
|image=Field-pines-mountain.jpg
|image_width=240
|image_width=240
|image_caption=Sacred Fir forest in the mountains
}}
}}
'''Sacred Fir''' (''Abies religiosa'', '''''Oyamel''''' in [[Nahuatl]]) is a [[fir]] native to the [[mountain]]s of central and southern [[Mexico]] ([[Trans-Mexican volcanic belt|Eje Volcánico Transversal]], [[Sierra Madre del Sur]]) and western [[Guatemala]]. It grows at high altitudes of {{convert|2100|-|4100|m|ft}} in [[cloud forest]] with high rainfall and cool, humid summers and dry winters in most of its habitat regime but in the state of [[Veracruz]] to the east it grows with precipitations all year long. Regular winter snowfalls occur on the highest populations.
It is a medium-sized to large [[evergreen]] [[Pinophyta|coniferous]] [[tree]] growing to {{convert|25|-|50|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall with a trunk diameter of up to {{convert|2|m|ft}}. The [[leaf|leaves]] are needle-like, flattened, {{convert|1.5|-|3.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|1.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} wide by {{convert|0.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick, dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of [[stoma]]ta below; the leaf apex is acute. The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably twisted at the base so they lie flat to either side of and above the shoot, with none below the shoot. The shoots are reddish-brown, hairless or with scattered pubescense. The [[conifer cone|cones]] are {{convert|8|-|16|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|4|-|6|cm|in|abbr=on}} broad, dark blue-purple before maturity; the scale bracts are purple or greenish, of moderate length, with the tips exposed in the closed cone. The winged [[seed]]s are released when the cones disintegrate at maturity about 7–9 months after [[pollination]]. Trees from the western end of the range on [[Colima (volcano)|Nevado de Colima]], [[Jalisco]] have cones with larger, reflexed bract scales (similar to [[Abies procera|Noble Fir]] cones); these are sometimes treated as a separate species, ''Abies colimensis''.
Sacred Fir is named after the use of cut foliage in religious festivals in Mexico, notably at [[Christmas]].
The oyamel is the preferred tree for the [[Monarch (butterfly)|Monarch Butterfly]] (''Danaus plexippus'') to reside in colonies during its hibernation in Mexico. The distribution of this tree is narrowing because of deforestation and human impact.
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
