Dictionary

oyamel en · NOUN

Etymology

From Nahuatl [Term?].

Meanings

1. Abies religiosa, the sacred fir, an evergreen coniferous tree of South America with needle-like leaves.
   • Forests of oyamel fir trees in Michoacán and Mexico States have for thousands of years been a winter haven for the resplendent orange and black butterflies, the most famous “charismatic megafauna” of the insect world, said Lincoln P. Brower, a professor emeritus of biology at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, who has studied the butterflies and their shrinking winter habitat for decades. 2008 March 7, Andrew C. Revkin, “Loggers Invaded Butterfly Haven, Photos Show”, in New York Times:

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