The Himalayan Cedar of the Palácio de Cristal

At around 24 metres tall, this Himalayan cedar is one of the largest of its species growing anywhere in Porto, a claim made cautiously since more than one Porto garden has a candidate for the title and no citywide survey has settled the question. It grows in the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, high enough on the hillside that its crown clears the rooftops below and looks out over the Douro valley, and its size alone marks it out in a garden better known for camellias and formal beds than for conifers this large. Cedrus deodara is native to the western Himalayas, where it is the national tree of Pakistan and grows at altitudes most other cedars can't tolerate, and it reached European gardens in the 19th century as one of several Himalayan conifers collectors raced to introduce once British expansion into the region made seed collection possible. Its drooping, slightly weeping branch tips distinguish it at a glance from the stiffer, more horizontal cedars of Lebanon and Atlas that grow in other Porto gardens. No precise planting date has surfaced for this specimen, only its approximate current height, so its age here is an estimate rather than a documented fact. What isn't in question is the view: few other trees in the garden let you see this much of the city at once.