Editing Boojum tree (section)

==Description==
This plant is a columniform, upwardly tapering tree. The central axis of the plant is homologous to the single stem of other species. It has a cortical water-storage network, a feature unique to the family.<ref name=":Henrickson" />

The ''Fouquieria columnaris'' trunk is up to 24 inches (61 centimeters) thick, off-white in color, with few or no major branches and with numerous thin, twiggy branches sticking out at right angles, all covered with small [[Leaf|leaves]] {{convert|1.5|–|4|cm|in|abbr=on}} long. They can grow to a height of 20 meters (almost 70 feet), but the tallest, in Montevideo Valley between Mission San Borja and Bahia de los Angeles is {{convert|86.5|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} in height,<ref>{{cite journal| last= Humphrey | first= Robert E. | date= September–October 1991 | title= Montevideo Valley and its Tallest Recorded Cirio | journal=Cactus and Succulent Journal | volume= 63 | issue= 5 | pages= 239–240}}</ref> the second tallest succulent after ''[[Euphorbia ampliphylla]]''.

The [[flower]]s bloom in August and September regardless of rainfall;<ref name=":Henrickson" /> they occur in short [[raceme]]s, and have a honey scent.<ref>Shreve, F. & I. L. Wiggins. 1964. Vegetation and Flora of the Sonoran Desert. 2 vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford</ref> The flowers have short, cream-yellow corollas, with the limb of the petals inflexing around the filaments of the [[stamen]]s. The anthers and stamens protrude out, while the [[Stigma (botany)|stigma]] is protected by the inflexed petal limbs. The flowers are visited by at least 15 species of [[bee]]s in 11 genera, who pry open the inflexed corolla limbs to obtain the sweetened [[nectar]] and contact the protected stigma.<ref name=":Henrickson" />
[[File:Fouquieria columnaris 0zz.jpg|left|thumb|Detail of the trunk]]
It is among the slowest growing trees. At fifty years of age, it may be only {{convert|5|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=in}} tall, and thereafter averages twelve inches (thirty centimeters) every ten years.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.photoseek.com/MexicoBaja.html | title= Baja California, Mexico | last= anonymous | date= n.d. | access-date= September 4, 2007}}</ref>