🌵 A desert plant 👾 A fictional creature

boojum

1 9.9

A tall spiny desert tree from Baja California with a thin column-like trunk

noun
/ˈbuːdʒəm/

: boojum

Visitors to the desert often marvel at the unique structure of the boojum, noticing its spiny branches reaching towards the sky.

Examples

Fossil records show that thousands of years ago, boojums were more abundant on the mainland coast, and that the range has contracted, perhaps during the time the Seri have occupied the region.

Academic text (1997)
(Except for those at the Sierra Bacha, boojums now grow only in Baja California.

Academic text (1997)
In any case, the Seri know that boojums are rare and do not want to see them become rarer.

Academic text (1997)
The boojum tree, with its distinctive column-like shape, towers over the arid landscape of Baja California.
In Baja California, the boojum is not just a tree; it's a symbol of the resilient flora that thrives in harsh conditions.

Synonyms

boojum tree

vsboojum

1 9.9

A tall desert tree with a thick trunk, spines and creamy yellow flowers

is the shorter name that omits the word indicating it is a tree

Fouquieria columnaris

vsboojum

Specialized

9.9

A tall column-shaped plant from Mexico with creamy yellow flowers that smell like honey

is the informal common term used instead of the scientific name

Compounds

boojum tree

1 9.9

A tall desert tree with a thick trunk, spines and creamy yellow flowers

Surface Forms

boojum singular

boojums plural

Etymology

Boojum was borrowed from Lewis Carroll's poem when explorers in Baja California needed a name for a very tall, strange-looking tree, because the tree's long, column shape seemed as odd as the poem's creature. That's why the plant is called a 'boojum' today: the name remembers its unusual, memorable shape.