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Bursera microphylla
Also called Littleleaf Elephant Tree
Bursera microphylla, known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in the genus Bursera. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
Bursera microphylla is the most northerly member of the Burseraceae in North America and also perhaps the most xeromorphic (desert-adapted) species within the genus as it thrives in the extremely arid desert hills and mountains in northwest Sonora. This tree is native to northwestern Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora and Zacatecas) and the southwestern United States (southern California and Arizona; especially in desert regions. This species can be found within Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Sonoran Desert National Monument, El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, Islas del Golfo de California Biosphere Reserve, Cabo Pulmo National Park, El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, Valle de los Cirios Natural Protected Area, and Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
The Cahuilla Indian people of the Colorado Desert region of California reportedly used the red sap of the elephant tree for treating skin disorders and other diseases.
Bursera aromatica · Bursera bipinnata · Cherry Leaf Elephant Tree · Bursera excelsa · Fragrant bursera · Bursera filicifolia · Bursera glabrifolia · Bursera grandifolia · Palo santo · Red Elephant Tree · Bursera hollickii · Bursera lancifolia
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bursera microphylla by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
