Boojum tree
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 Three Boojum or Cirio trees in the central Baja desert. | ||||||||||||||
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| Fouquieria columnaris (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 is derived from Lewis Carroll's poem "The Hunting of the Snark".
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 [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.
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
- Felger, Richard; Mary B. Moser. (1985). People of the desert and sea: ethnobotany of the Seri Indians. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
- Moser, Mary B.; Stephen A. Marlett (2005) (in Spanish and English). Comcáac quih yaza quih hant ihíip hac: Diccionario seri-español-inglés. Hermosillo, Sonora: Universidad de Sonora and Plaza y Valdés Editores. http://lengamer.org/admin/language_folders/seri/user_uploaded_files/links/File/DiccionarioSeri2005.pdf.