Lollipop Tree
Forchhammeria watsonii
Family: Cupressaceae
OTHER NAMES
Spanish: palo jito, palo San Juan
CHARACTERISTICS
Evergreen tree reaching 25’ with a dense canopy. In its native Sonoran habitat, cows browse the undersides, giving the trees a distinctive “lollipop” shape. The leaves are dense, leathery, and almost conifer-like. These trees are dioecious (separate male and female plants). Female flowers are green and small. Male flowers are yellow and more noticeable. Olive-like fruits on female plants. From the distance they may be mistaken for olive trees.
LANDSCAPE USE
Dense screening plant, medium-sized tree.
GROWING CONDITIONS
AN EXPLANAITION OF TERMS USED
SUN full to part sun, even reflected heat
WATER moderate to low
SOIL not picky, but well-drained
HARDINESS plants appear to be hardy to about mid 20s°F, though more testing is needed
BASIN high zone
CONTAINER does moderately well in containers but will not attain full size
NUTRITION low
MAINTENANCE very little
ECOLOGY
The flowers are visited by bees and many other insects.
ETHNOBOTANY
The fruits are boiled (often with sugar) to remove the bitterness, and eaten. In its native habitat, it is an important nesting tree for owls.
NATURAL DISTRIBUTION
Native to the Sonoran Desert in Baja California and Sonora, near the coasts.
TAXONOMY AND NAME
This plant is in the Resedaceae, the mignonette family. It was formerly in the Capparaceae, the caper family. There are 13 species of Forchhammeria found in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The etymology of Forchhammeria is unclear. The species, watsonii, is named after Sereno Watson (1826-1892), an assistant to Asa Gray at Harvard.
Lollipop Trees look like they've been shaped by landscapers that love to shape every plant. But these plants are naturally like this. Photo by Luis Enrique Vega, iNaturalist
The male flowers, photo by Bill Levine, iNaturalist
Female flowers, photo by Sue Carnahan, SEINET
The fruits, photo by Jose Luis Leon de la Luz, iNaturalist