''Pinus pseudostrobus'', known in English as the smooth-bark Mexican pine and in Spanish as ''chamite'' or ''pacingo'', is a tree found in forests of

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Gua ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It is 8 to 25 m tall with a dense and round top.It is threatened by logging and wood harvesting. The bark is brown and fissured and smooth when young. It is subject to

ex-situ conservation Svalbard GLOBAL SEED BANK, an ''ex situ'' conservation. ''Ex situ'' conservation literally means, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety or breed, of plant or animal outside its natural habitat ...

. It grows at altitudes between 850 and 3250 m. from 26° to 15° north latitude, from

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and ...

, Mexico to

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the count ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. It occurs within a rainfall regime that rains mostly in summer. A stand of about 15 fully mature smooth-bark Mexican pines is in

Imperial County, California Imperial County is a county on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, making it the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat is El Centro. Imperial is the ...

, at the Palo Verde County Park, in a narrow strip of land between Hwy 78 and the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. sta ...

. English botanist

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

described the species in 1839. It is divided into ''Pinus pseudostrobus'' var.''apulcensis'' ( Lindl.)Shaw (Apulco pine), ''Pinus pseudostrobus'' f.''protuberans'' Martínez and ''Pinus pseudostrobus'' var.''pseudostrobus''. It has been introduced in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country ...

near sea level and has done well. File:Pinus pseudostrobus, male cones (11332867843).jpg, Male cones at San Francisco Botanical Garden File:Pinus pseudostrobus Cerro Pelon.jpg, ''Pinus pseudostrobus'', Cerro Pelón, Mexico

References

pseudostrobus Trees of Mexico Trees of Puebla Garden plants of North America Ornamental trees Trees of temperate climates Least concern plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental Flora of Central Mexico Flora of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt {{conifer-stub