Taxodium mucronatum, commonly known as Montezuma bald cypress, Montezuma cypress, , or , is derived from the Nahuatl name for the tree, , which means 'upright drum in water' or 'old man of the water'. and favors climates that are rainy throughout the year or at least with high summer rainfall.

Taxodium mucronatum is native to much of Mexico as far south as the highlands of southern Mexico. Within Guatemala, the tree is restricted to Huehuetenango Department. The tree is sacred to the native peoples of Mexico, and is featured in the Zapotec creation myth. To the Aztecs, the combined shade of an and a (Ceiba pentandra) metaphorically represented a ruler's authority. According to legend, Hernán Cortés wept under an ahuehuete in Popotla after suffering defeat during the Battle of La Noche Triste.

This plant is mentioned in the 2015 short story "Rivers" by John Keene, which reimagines the story of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Uses

thumb|An 1875 painting, Ahuehuetes en Chapultepec, by [[José María Velasco Gómez depicting the cypress by the lake in Chapultepec.]]

Montezuma cypresses have been used as ornamental trees since Pre-Columbian times. The Aztecs planted along processional paths in the gardens of Chapultepec because of its association with government. Artificial islands called were formed in the shallow lakes of the Valley of Mexico by adding soil to rectangular areas enclosed by trees such as ; In some parts of Mexico the foliage is used to decorate church altars during religious ceremonies.

John Naka, a bonsai master, donated his very first bonsai, a Montezuma cypress, to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum of the United States.

A linear grove is located in the main courtyard of the Getty Center Art Museum, thriving since 1995.

Hybrids

  • Taxodium × 'LaNana' (T. distichum × T. mucronatum)
  • Taxodium 'Zhongshansa' (T. distichum × T. mucronatum)

References

General references

  • Eguiluz T. 1982. Clima y Distribución del género pinus en México. Distrito Federal. Mexico.
  • Rzedowski J. 1983. Vegetación de México. Distrito Federal, Mexico.
  • Martínez, Maximinio. 1978. Catálogo de nombres vulgares y científicos de plantas mexicanas.