The Jerusalem Botanical Gardens

Common name: Mexican White Cedar, Mexican Cypress, Cedar of Goa, ברוש פורטוגלי, ברוש פורטוגלי

Family: Cupressaceae (Cypress)

Synonym: Cupressus lindleyi

Distribution: Northern Mexico, south through southern Guatemala to Western Honduras

Life form: Conifer

Description: In nature tree i up to 30 m tall, with trunk 1.5 m in diameter. Bark reddish-brown, thin, fibrous, peeling in narrow strips. Crown variable, with horizontal branches. Branchlets four-sided, sometimes slightly flattened. Scale leaves on branchlets 1-2.5 mm long dark green to bluish green, smooth edges sometimes minutely toothed. Male cones 3-4 mm long 2.5-3 mm wide. Mature femael cones spherical 1-1.5 cm long, reddish or grayish-brown at maturity, with 3-4 pairs of seed scales. 8-12 seeds per scale, 3-5 mm long, yellow-brown.