PINE FOREST
Pines cover a large part of the uplands, found where temperatures are moderate to cold,
up to the treeline at about 4000 meters (13,000 feet).
Characteristic pines are:
HIGHER, DRIER LOCATIONS
- Pinus oocarpa
- Pinus ayacahuite
- Pinus strobus
LOWER, MORE HUMID LOCATIONS
- Pinus pseudostrobus
- Pinus tenuifolia
- Pinus montezumae
- Pinus teocote
PINE-OAK FOREST
Found between 800 to 2200 meters (2600-7400 feet), this forest occurs
in many kinds of terrane, with an average annual rainfall of aboaut 1200 mm (47 inches).
Characteristic trees are:
PINES:
- Pinus hartwegii
- Pinus montezumae
- Pinus oocarpa
- Pinus strobus
- Pinus ayacahuite
OAKS:
- Quercus corrugata
- Quercus oleoides
- Quercus peduncularis
- Quercus polymorpha
- Quercus acatenangensis
- Quercus brachystachys
- Quercus conspersa
- Quercus skinneri
DECIDUOUS FOREST
Note Sweetgum's distinctive
3- & 5-pointed leaves
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Occurs from about 800-2200 meters
(2600-7400 feet) in elevation, especially on slopes and ridges exposed to northern winds
off the Gulf. Abundant rain falls during the summer, typically about 2000 mm (79 inches).
Because of high humidity, tree trunks and limbs are heavily covered with bromeliads as
well as some ferns and orchids. A very striking feature of the flora is that many of its
species are the same, subspecies of, or "sister species" to, species
typical of North America's eastern forests. Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua,
whose distinctive 3- and 5-pointed leaves are shown above, is the most conspicuous of
these.These are relict species left from the last Ice Age. As the glacier
retreated, to remain in a temperate climate, plants could either follow the glacier back
north, or move up in elevation. The ancestors of these relect species moved up in
elevation.
Characteristic trees are:
- Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua
- Quercus acatenangensis
- Cornus disciflora
- Eastern Hornbeam, Carpinus coroliniana
- Clethra suaveolens
- Quercus candicans
EVERGREEN SCRUB
In the state's northern mountains and the southern Sierra Madres, this vegetation
emerges where the climate is temperate and humid, with abundant summer rain and an average
annual rainfall of about 2560 mm (100 inches). Typically it occurs in patches at altitudes
between 1200 and 2300 meters (3900 to 7500 feet). Characteristic species
include:
- Clethra suaveolens
- Oreoponax sanderianus
- Matudaea trinervia
- Inga micheliana
- Saurauia villosa
- Chiranthodendron pentadactylon
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