boojum tree

boojum tree
/booh"jeuhm/
a tree, Idria columnaris, native to Baja California, having spreading spiny branches, deciduous leaves, and yellow flowers. Also called cirio.
[1960-65; after the boojum, an imaginary creature invented by Lewis Carroll in the poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876)]

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      (Idria columnaris), tree that is the only species of its genus, in the family Fouquieriaceae. The boojum tree is an unusual plant found native only in the deserts of Baja California and Sonora, Mexico. Fancifully, it resembles a slender upside-down carrot, up to 15 metres (50 feet) tall and covered with spiny twigs that bear yellowish flowers in hanging clusters. As with its relative the ocotillo, the small leaves fall early, leaving the greenish stems to carry out food-producing photosynthesis. The swollen trunk base is often hollow and provides a habitat for honeybees; the wood is somewhat spongy and retains water. The boojum tree is sometimes planted in southern California and Arizona as a landscape curiosity; small plants can be grown indoors.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Boojum tree — Taxobox name = Boojum Tree image width = 240px image caption = Three Boojum or Cirio trees in the central Baja desert. regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Ericales familia = Fouquieriaceae genus = Fouquieria… …   Wikipedia

  • boojum tree — cirio cirio n. the candlewood of Mexico and couthwestern California ({Idria columnaris} or {Fouquieria columnaris}), having tall columnar stems and bearing honey scented creamy yellow flowers; called also the {boojum tree}. Syn: boojum tree,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • boojum tree — noun candlewood of Mexico and southwestern California having tall columnar stems and bearing honey scented creamy yellow flowers • Syn: ↑cirio, ↑Fouquieria columnaris, ↑Idria columnaris • Hypernyms: ↑candlewood • Member Holonyms: ↑Fouquieria, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Boojum — may refer to:*A particularly dangerous kind of Snark. *Boojum (superfluidity), a phenomenon in physics, associated with superfluid Helium 3. *The boojum tree ( Fouquieria columnaris ) of Baja California, with an isolated population in Sonora,… …   Wikipedia

  • Boojum — Cirio Cirio auf der Baja California in der Region Cataviña Systematik Ordnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • boojum — noun Etymology: perhaps from boojum, an imaginary creature in The Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll; from its grotesque appearance Date: 1951 a tall spiny long lived desert tree (Fouquieria columnaris syn. Idria columnaris) native to… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • boojum — noun a) A geometric pattern sometimes observed on the surface of superfluid helium 3 b) A species of tree (Fouquieria columnaris) native to Baja California, Mexico …   Wiktionary

  • List of major tree genera — The major tree genera are listed below. Flowering plants (Magnoliophyta; angiosperms) Dicotyledons (Magnoliopsida; broadleaf or hardwood trees)* Adoxaceae (Moschatel family) ** Moschatel, Adoxa moschatellina ** Elderberry, Sambucus species **… …   Wikipedia

  • Fouquieria columnaris — Boojum Tree Boojum tree at Baja California desert, Cataviña region. Scientific classification Kingdom: Pla …   Wikipedia

  • The Hunting of the Snark — (An Agony in 8 Fits) is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson) in 1874, when he was 42 years old. [ [http://www.literature.org/authors/carroll lewis/the hunting of the snark/ Poem as presented by Literature.org]… …   Wikipedia

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