Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Elephant Tree
Bursera microphylla
  
About Elephant Tree (Bursera microphylla) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant Elephant Tree (Bursera microphylla) is a small tree in the Burseraceae (Torchwood) family. This tree is native to the southwestern United States (Southern California and Arizona) and to Northern Mexico (states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora and Zacatecas), exclusively in desert regions. It is the only representative of this family in the U.S.; many species occur in Mexico. The Anza-Borrego Desert in San Diego County is the northern limit of this species in California.

Although classified as a tree, in some locations the Elephant Tree is a sprawling 3-foot shrub. Its bark is light gray to white, with younger branches having a reddish color. It readily drops its light-colored leaves in response to drought and is extremely drought-adapted. The somewhat swollen trunk acts as water storage and has papery, exfoliating bark. The flowers are rounded yellow buds, which open into small, star-shaped white or cream flowers. Each fruit containing a single yellow stone. The Cahuilla People used the red sap of the Elephant Tree as a panacea.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Tree, Succulent

Size
Size
13 ft tall
10 ft wide

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Very Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
White, Yellow, Cream

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
The fruits are attractive to many insects, small mammals and birds, notably Ash-throated Flycatcher and Gray Vireo.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 confirmed , 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 2x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 25° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast

Soil Description
Soil Description
Typically decomposed granite

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Hedges, Deer Resistant

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
It may be grown in a container almost indefinitely. If planted in the ground in a Desert garden setting, it can be combined with many native Desert shrubs, herbs and cacti from California and Baja. It is not usually offered for sale in native plant nurseries but may be found at specialty Desert or succulent nurseries.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment.

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Rocky slopes of the desert

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.1" - 6.5", Summer Precipitation: 0.64" - 1.55", Coldest Month: 47.6" - 58.3", Hottest Month: 80.4" - 88.3", Humidity: 3.35" - 38.51", Elevation: 8" - 2623"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Littleleaf Elephant Tree


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In