In the Nahuatl language it means old water tree. It is a common name given in Mexico to a tree of the Cupressaceae family that is also known as ahuehué, cypress, Montezuma cypress, sabino, Mexican sabino. It is considered the national tree of Mexico. They are usually very long-lived trees, living several millennia. Its scientific name is Taxodium huegelii or Taxodium mucronatum.
The national tree of Mexico, one of the more long-lived, ( some has more than two thousand years ). Cypress Moctezuma and sabino Mexican is also called. Some of these sacred trees are considered in Mexico national monuments and have witnessed historical events, like the sad, late evening, under whose branches wept Hernán cuts its defeat in a battle against the Aztecs. The tree of Tule next to the Church of Santa María of the Tule in Oaxaca is the thickest in the world as it has more than 14 meters in diameter. In the parque del Retiro in Madrid we also have a beautiful ahuehuete of almost 400 years next to the door of Felipe IV.
