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Oyamel fir
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Oyamel fir A natural wonder Interactive thumbnail shows an animated map of monarch butterfly seasonal migration.
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Oyamel fir
Oyamel fir A forest of oyamel fir trees (Abies religiosa) in Mineral del Chico, Hidalgo, Mexico. 

Oyamel fir

tree
Also known as: Abies religiosa, sacred fir
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Melissa Petruzzello
Melissa Petruzzello (she/her) is Assistant Managing Editor and covers plants, algae, fungi, insects, spiders, renewable energy and environmental engineering. She also handles certain topics in Christianity,...
Melissa Petruzzello
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Britannica Editors
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Oyamel fir, (Abies religiosa), tall, elegant conifer native to the high-elevation forests of central and southern Mexico and parts of Guatemala. Millions of migratory monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus plexippus) overwinter in oyamel fir forests each year, having traveled from Canada and the United States to central Mexico. Given their importance to the butterfly’s survival, the protection of oyamel forests is a key element in the conservation of the monarch butterfly’s spectacular migration cycle. Eight of...

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