Boojum tree

Taxobox
name = Boojum Tree


image_width = 240px
image_caption = Three Boojum or Cirio trees in the central Baja desert.
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Ericales
familia = Fouquieriaceae
genus = "Fouquieria"
species = "F. columnaris"
binomial = "Fouquieria columnaris"
binomial_authority = (Kellogg) Kellogg ex Curran

The boojum or (Spanish) cirio ("Fouquieria columnaris", syn. "Idria columnaris") is a bizarre-looking tree in the family Fouquieriaceae, whose other members include the ocotillos. It is nearly endemic to the Baja California Peninsula, with only a small population in the Sierra Bacha of Sonora. The plant's English name was given by Godfrey Sykes of the Desert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona and is taken from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark". [Robert R. Humphrey. The Boojum and its Home]

The peculiar distribution pattern of the mainland boojums has led Mexican botanists to conclude that they were probably transplanted to the mainland by the indigenous Seri people, who lived in this area and still live on communal property south of this location. The Seri name for this plant is "cototaj" IPA| [ˈkototax] . In Seri belief, touching this plant will cause strong winds to blow (an undesirable state). Given this belief, the hypothesis that the Seri people transplanted it is doubtful.

The trunk is up to 24 cm thick, with branches sticking out at right angles, all covered with small leaves 1.5-4 cm long. They can grow to a height of 20 m. The flowers bloom in summer and autumn; they occur in short racemes, and are creamy yellow with a honey scent.

References

*cite book |last=Felger |first=Richard |coauthors=Mary B. Moser. |title=People of the desert and sea: ethnobotany of the Seri Indians |location=Tucson |year=1985 |publisher=University of Arizona Press
*cite book |last=Moser |first=Mary B. |coauthors=Stephen A. Marlett |title=Comcáac quih yaza quih hant ihíip hac: Diccionario seri-español-inglés |url=http://lengamer.org/admin/language_folders/seri/user_uploaded_files/links/File/DiccionarioSeri2005.pdf |year=2005 |publisher=Universidad de Sonora and Plaza y Valdés Editores |location=Hermosillo, Sonora |language=Spanish and English

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?410806 Germplasm Resources Information Network "Fouquieria columnaris"]
* [http://www.pbase.com/themarmot/image/81537635 Boojum "(Fouquieria columnaris)" at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden - Claremont, California]