Boojum tree facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Boojum tree |
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| Boojum tree in Baja California desert, Cataviña region. | |
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Fouquieria
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| Species: |
columnaris
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The Boojum tree (Fouquieria columnaris), also called cirio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈsiɾjo]), is a very unique tree. It belongs to the ocotillo family. Some scientists used to think it was in its own group called Idria.
This special tree mostly grows in the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. You can also find a small number of them in the Sierra Bacha area of Sonora. The name "Boojum" comes from a poem called "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll.
Contents
What Does the Boojum Tree Look Like?
The Boojum tree grows tall and thin, like a column. It gets narrower as it goes up. It has one main stem, similar to other trees. This plant can store water in its outer layers. This helps it survive in very dry places.
Its trunk can be up to 61 centimeters (24 inches) thick. The trunk is off-white in color. It usually has very few large branches. Instead, many thin, twig-like branches stick out at right angles. These branches are covered with small leaves, about 1.5 to 4 centimeters (0.6 to 1.6 inches) long.
Boojum trees can grow very tall, up to 20 meters (almost 70 feet). The tallest known Boojum tree is 86.5 feet (26.4 meters) high. This makes it the second tallest succulent plant in the world.
Boojum Tree Flowers
The flowers of the Boojum tree bloom in August and September. They bloom even if it hasn't rained much. The flowers grow in small clusters and smell like honey. They are creamy-yellow in color.
Many types of bees visit these flowers. Bees help the flowers make seeds. They push open the petals to get to the sweet nectar inside.
How Fast Does It Grow?
The Boojum tree is one of the slowest-growing trees. A fifty-year-old tree might only be 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall. After that, it usually grows about 12 inches (30 centimeters) every ten years.
Boojum Tree Family and History
The Boojum tree is very similar to two other plants. These are Fouquieria fasciculata and Fouquieria purpusii. These plants are also found in south-central Mexico. They all have special ways of storing water in their stems.
Why Its Name Changed
The Boojum tree was once put in its own group called Idria. But scientists later learned more about F. fasciculata and F. purpursii. These two plants share features with both Idria and Fouquieria.
Many other plant groups have both woody and succulent (water-storing) species. Because of this, and because there were not enough clear differences, the group Idria was combined into Fouquieria. This means the Boojum tree is now firmly part of the Fouquieria family.
Where Boojum Trees Live
You can find Boojum trees from sea level up to 1450 meters (4757 feet) high. They grow in different types of soil. They prefer well-drained areas like hillsides and plains.
They are found in Baja California, from San Quintín south to the Tres Vírgenes volcanoes. They also grow on Isla Ángel de la Guarda in the Gulf of California. On the mainland of Mexico, a small group lives south of Puerto Libertad in Sonora.
The areas where Boojum trees grow don't get much rain. They usually get only about 73 to 140 millimeters (2.9 to 5.5 inches) of rain each year. Most of this rain falls from January to April. Sometimes, years can pass without heavy rainfall.
Some people believe the native Seri people might have moved Boojum trees to the mainland. The Seri people lived in this area. In the Seri language, the plant is called cototaj (IPA: [ˈkototax]). The Seri people believe that touching this plant will cause strong winds. Because of this belief, it is unlikely they would have moved the trees.
See also
In Spanish: Árbol cirio para niños
