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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Boojum Tree
| image = bajacirios.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Three Boojum or Cirio trees <br/>in the central [[Baja]] desert.
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Fouquieria]]ceae
| genus = ''[[Fouquieria]]''
| species = '''''F. columnaris'''''
| binomial = ''Fouquieria columnaris''
| binomial_authority = ([[Albert Kellogg|Kellogg]]) Kellogg ex Curran
}}
The '''boojum''' or (Spanish) '''cirio''' (''Fouquieria columnaris'', [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Idria columnaris'') is a bizarre-looking [[tree]] in the family [[Fouquieria]]ceae, whose other members include the [[ocotillo]]s. It is nearly [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the [[Baja California Peninsula]], with only a small population in the Sierra Bacha of [[Sonora]]. The plant's English name is derived from [[Lewis Carroll]]'s poem "[[The Hunting of the Snark]]".
[[Image:Boojum tree.jpg|thumb|left|Boojum tree at Baja California desert, Cataviña region.]]
[[Image:Boojum_tree_ucr_botanical_garden.jpg|thumb|Boojum tree in UC Riverside's Botanical Garden.]]
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 language|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 [[Leaf|leaves]] 1.5-4 cm long. They can grow to a height of 20 m. The [[flower]]s bloom in summer and autumn; they occur in short [[raceme]]s, and are creamy yellow with a honey scent.
Cirios are fairly popular as garden plants in the southwestern US, including numerous botanical gardens and zoos. This popularity has endangered the plant as the younger plant population has been depleted.
==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}}
==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]
[[Category:Ericales]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California Sur]]
[[Category:Flora of Sonora]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Boojum Tree
| image = bajacirios.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Three Boojum or Cirio trees <br/>in the central [[Baja]] desert.
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Fouquieria]]ceae
| genus = ''[[Fouquieria]]''
| species = '''''F. columnaris'''''
| binomial = ''Fouquieria columnaris''
| binomial_authority = ([[Albert Kellogg|Kellogg]]) Kellogg ex Curran
}}
The '''boojum''' or (Spanish) '''cirio''' (''Fouquieria columnaris'', [[synonymy|syn.]] ''Idria columnaris'') is a bizarre-looking [[tree]] in the family [[Fouquieria]]ceae, whose other members include the [[ocotillo]]s. It is nearly [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] to the [[Baja California Peninsula]], with only a small population in the Sierra Bacha of [[Sonora]]. The plant's English name is derived from [[Lewis Carroll]]'s poem "[[The Hunting of the Snark]]".
[[Image:Boojum tree.jpg|thumb|left|Boojum tree at Baja California desert, Cataviña region.]]
[[Image:Boojum_tree_ucr_botanical_garden.jpg|thumb|Boojum tree in UC Riverside's Botanical Garden.]]
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 language|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 [[Leaf|leaves]] 1.5-4 cm long. They can grow to a height of 20 m. The [[flower]]s bloom in summer and autumn; they occur in short [[raceme]]s, and are creamy yellow with a honey scent.
Cirios are fairly popular as garden plants in the southwestern US, including numerous botanical gardens and zoos. This popularity has endangered the plant as the younger plant population has been depleted.
==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}}
==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]
[[Category:Ericales]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California Sur]]
[[Category:Flora of Sonora]]