If you’re looking for a unique accent plant, and have a lot of patience and some cash, consider the boojum. The boojum tree, or cirio, (Fouquieria columnaris) is an otherworldly plant from the Sonoran desert south of the border, chiefly on the Baja peninsula. It is a succulent tree, and can grow up to 70 feet tall and 5 feet wide. It grows extremely slowly. Its shape is often described as a giant upside-down carrot with spiky branches. When well-watered, it will have small leaves similar to those of ocotillos, to which it is related.
Unlike many other native succulents, the boojum’s growing season is in the winter. It’s best to plant it in the fall, just at the start of its growing cycle. It likes full sun to part shade, and must have well-drained soil, so don’t put it anywhere where it will be damp or wet. Paradoxically, you do not want to give it additional water or irrigation in the summer (when it’s dormant), as it may rot. It can survive for years without rainfall and can live for many centuries.
In this closeup of boojum tree trunks, you can see the light texture and the small, ocotillo-like leaves.
It is a protected plant in Mexico. The tallest known specimen is over 86 feet tall, and is likely several hundred years old. The tree is hardy to about 25 F; possibly to 19 F when established. The tree stores water in its trunk. The thick trunk is green to birch-colored, with spiny branches growing perpendicular to it. The tree blooms in late summer (August-September) and the creamy flowers have a honey-like scent. As might be expected, many species of bees visit the flowers, as do hummingbirds, butterflies and other pollinators.
This boojum tree, approximately 35 feet tall, is growing in the Baja California desert near Catavina. These magnificent plants are a protected species in Mexico.
The tree can be grown from seed, but not from cuttings. In Arizona, it is only available from nurseries, and can be quite pricey, given that it can take 10-20 years to grow a foot. Specimens can be seen in the University of Arizona cactus garden on the mall. The plant’s common name (boojum) was taken from the Lewis Carroll poem “The Hunting of the Snark”.
