The Ciprés (Cupressus lusitanica), known in English as Mexican Cypress or Cedar of Goa, may not be native to Costa Rica, but it has become one of the country's most ecologically and economically important trees. Introduced from the highlands of Mexico and Guatemala, this fast-growing conifer thrives in Costa Rica's Central Valley and mountain regions, where it is extensively planted for timber production, windbreaks, and living fences. Its aromatic, durable wood has become a staple of Costa Rican construction. The neat rows of dark columnar Ciprés trees lining coffee farms and mountain roads are now as much a part of the highland landscape as the volcanos themselves.

Drive anywhere in Costa Rica's Central Valley highlands and you'll meet the Ciprés—standing in dark columnar rows along coffee farms, climbing hillsides in dense plantations, sheltering crops from the fierce mountain winds. This tree from the Mexican highlands has found a second home in Costa Rica's cool mountains, and in doing so has become essential to the highland economy. Its aromatic wood frames thousands of homes across the country. Its living walls protect the coffee that Costa Rica is famous for. Its rapid growth provides income to rural families on lands too steep or cold for other crops. While conservationists rightfully emphasize the value of native forests, the Ciprés shows that thoughtfully managed introduced species can play a positive role—providing timber that might otherwise come from precious hardwoods, sequestering carbon, protecting soils on steep slopes. In a world seeking sustainable solutions, the Ciprés offers lessons in productive coexistence between human needs and environmental stewardship.