Elephant Tree
Bursera microphylla
OTHER NAMES
Spanish: torote blanco, copal, palo colorado, torote rojo, torote colorado, cuajiote blanco, torote
CHARACTERISTICS
Elephant trees are special and unusual plants we call “caudiciform” or fat succulent plants. They are in the frankincense family and are the new world cousins of that old world group of fragrant plants. They can grow up to 20’ tall in frost free conditions, though the populations found in Arizona are usually stunted (frost-pruned shrubs). The trunk is iridescent, coppery, with pealing bark. The trunks of these plants exude a hard waxy substance called copal. The leaves are resinous, shiny, and squirt terpenes when pulled from the stem. Small flowers yield aril-covered seeds.
LANDSCAPE USE
Though these plants are trees in frost-free locations, they are mostly seen in our region as shrubs or special container specimens.
GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED
SUN full to part sun, even reflected heat
WATER low, can live on rainfall when established. If pushing this plant to grow, give extra water during the warm season
SOIL not picky, but well-drained
HARDINESS protect from frost, plants can tolerate temperatures in the mid to high 20s°F, but will have some tip damage
BASIN high zone
CONTAINER does very well in containers and make great bonsai
NUTRITION low
MAINTENANCE very little
ECOLOGY
Bursera species often can photosynthesize when leafless through their iridescent trunk, much like ocotillos do.
ETHNOBOTANY
The copal is burned like frankincense. The plant has many medicinal uses by the various people who live within its range. The stems are used to make coil baskets.
NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Found on rocky slopes and in canyons from 500-3,500’ across southwestern Arizona into Sonora and into Baja California, and further south to Zacatecas. It is a distinctively Sonoran Desert species. Its natural distribution is only missing from the most northern and eastern parts of the Sonoran Desert.
TAXONOMY AND NAME
This species is in the Burseraceae, the frankincense family. There are 120 species of bursera.
The genus is named after: Joachim Burser, German/Danish botanist,1583-1639. Microphylla means small leaf, referring to the plants relative small leaf size.