Boojum tree (or fouquieria columnaris tree) - of the USA and Mexico

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The Boojum tree, or fouquieria columnaris tree, resembles a large altar candle and is also known as the "cirio" (meaning candle in Spanish). These plants have adapted to the desert conditions of rocky plains of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico by developing some unique characteristics, such as having thick waxy bark, that have allowed them to flourish and survive.

The Boojum tree has a large trunk (measuring up to three feet (or 1 meter) wide at the base) that can grow to a height of sixty feet (18 meters). The numerous short branches that sprout from the trunk are spiky and sharp to human touch and grow in a spiral pattern up the trunk. The trunk and branches are covered with a thick waxy bark and is the reason why the Boojum tree looks similar to a large altar candle. Pale yellow rounded flowers grow on top of the trunk if it rains in the early summer.

The thorny spines on the branches protect the Boojum tree as they deter grazing herbivores. Miniature leaves grow close to the trunk resulting in the total surface area being so small that these trees are hardly ever affected by the searing heat of the Sun. The pores contained in the waxy bark close in extreme heat. This process also protects the fleshy inner tissues of the tree. The tops of these trees are prone to injury by the wind and often have bizarre shapes.

The physical characteristics of the Boojum tree has allowed it to thrive and flourish in the Vizcaino-Magdalena desert of Baja California. Forests of these trees rise above the other ground-level vegetation of the desert. Boojum trees hold so much water that ranchers in the area will cut them down during droughts for their cattle.

The Boojum tree is a species of tree that has adapted very well to the arid environment of the Vizcaino-Magdalena desert they inhabit.