''Pachycormus'' is a
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus of flowering plants in the
cashew family commonly known as the Baja elephant tree, torote blanco, or copalquín.
The single species ''Pachycormus discolor'' is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to the
Baja California peninsula, with three varieties. This sarcocaulescent tree or shrub is characterized by its unique gnarled growth habit, skin-like exfoliating bark, and
succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
nature, whose appearance has been colorfully described as "the
proboscis
A proboscis () is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In invertebrates, the term usually refers to tubular mouthparts used for feeding and sucking. In vertebrates, a proboscis is an elong ...
of an
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
holding a
nosegay
A nosegay, posy, or tussie-mussie is a small flower bouquet, typically given as a gift. They have existed in some form since at least medieval times, when they were carried or worn around the head or bodice. Doilies are traditionally used to bin ...
," a "huge
radish
The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an Eating, edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman Empire, Roman times.
Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, be ...
protruding from the ground," or "
grotesque
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
resemblances of the flexed limbs of a
corpulent
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI) ...
human
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
being."
This drought-deciduous species spends most of the year dormant, but following rains
pinnate
Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and in ...
green leaves emerge, and in the late spring to summer the leaves yellow, fall, and give way to bright red, cream, or pink flowers that give it a striking appearance in bloom.
Description
![Pachycormus discolor 64304131](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Pachycormus_discolor_64304131.jpg)
This species is a
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
or
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
(rarely) with a gnarled growth habit that can result in bizarre shapes and forms. On the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
coast, in areas with strong coastal winds, the growth habit is usually prostrate or sprawling. The trunk is usually in diameter and covered in a smooth, exfoliating, skin-like epidermis (the outer bark). Beneath the papery outer bark, which exfoliates annually, is a spongey, blue-green
photosynthetic
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ...
inner bark thick. The inner bark exudes a milky sap that dries clear and hardens into a gum or resin.
The leaves are dark green, pinnately compound, pubescent, and
drought deciduous
Drought deciduous, or drought semi-deciduous plants refers to plants that shed their leaves during periods of drought or in the dry season. This phenomenon is a natural process of plants and is caused due to the limitation of water around the env ...
, yellowing first before they drop. There are 3 to 15 leaflets, measuring long and shaped oval or oblong. The herbage is
puberulent
Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...
. Leaf size is variable within the
infraspecies. The inflorescence is a
panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
. The flowers are
dioecious
Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...
, and are colored yellowish, pink or red (the color varying per variety). The petals are accrescent, about long and with an acute tip. The fruits are shorter than the petals, and are pubescent.
The flowers appear in May, and can bloom into September, depending on moisture levels.
[
Soule, J.A. 2013. ''Success With Succulents''. Tierra del Sol Press.]
Taxonomy
Etymology
![Elephant tree](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Elephant_tree.jpg)
The generic name refers to the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
''pachy'' for "thick" and ''kormos'' for "trunk," referring to the thick
caudiciform
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
trunk. The common name is derived from the thick size of the trunk relative to the tree, like that of an
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
.
The common name "elephant tree" is also applied to ''
Bursera microphylla
''Bursera microphylla'', known by the common name elephant tree in English or 'torote' in Spanish, is a tree in genus ''Bursera''. It grows into a distinctive sculptural form, with a thickened, water-storing or caudiciform trunk. It is found in ...
'' as well as other species.
Subdivisions
* ''Pachycormus discolor'' var. ''discolor'' — Commonly known as the Magdalena elephant tree. The
autonymic variety, with larger leaves than the other two varieties. Endemic to
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
.
* ''Pachycormus discolor'' var. ''pubescens''
(S. Watson) Gentry — Commonly known as the Baja California elephant tree. The most common variety, with a more open inflorescence and smaller flowers than var. ''veatchiana''.
* ''Pachycormus discolor'' var. ''veatchiana''
(Kellogg) Gentry — Commonly known as the Veatch elephant tree. A rare variety with smaller leaves and distinct larger, conspicuously pubescent rose-colored flowers.
Restricted to
Cedros Island
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes ...
,
Isla Natividad
Isla Natividad is an island in the Pacific Ocean 6 km west off Punta Eugenia, the northwestern headland of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. 200 meters off its northwestern end lies Roca María at , with an area of 0.074 km2 ...
, and the western
Vizcaino Peninsula.
Distribution and habitat
This species is endemic to the
Baja California peninsula of
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, occupying the states of
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
and
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
. The three varieties are subsequently endemic to their own parts of the peninsula.
San Fernando Velicatá delimits the northern vicinity of this species, with variety ''pubescens'' found from there to the lower part of the peninsula near
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
and various
Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
islands. In the far western parts of the peninsula, var. ''veatchiana'' occupies the western margins of the Vizcaino desert,
Cedros Island
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which includes ...
, and the
Natividad islands. In the south-western part of the peninsula, var. ''discolor'' is found on the islands of
Magdalena Bay
Magdalena Bay ( es, Bahía Magdalena) is a long bay in Comondú Municipality along the western coast of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is protected from the Pacific Ocean by the unpopulated sandy barrier islands of Isla Magdalen ...
and the western flanks of the southern
Sierra de La Giganta
The Sierra de la Giganta is a mountain range of eastern Baja California Sur state, located on the southern Baja California Peninsula in northwestern Mexico.
It is a mountain range of the Peninsular Ranges System, which extends from Southern Cal ...
.
This species is primarily restricted to the
Baja California desert
The Baja California Desert ( es, Desierto de Baja California) is a desert ecoregion of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. This ecoregion occupies the western portion of the Baja California peninsula, and occupies most of the Mexican states of B ...
and the
Vizcaino desert, but can also be found in more temperate montane habitats, such as in the mountains of the Sierra de La Giganta and the Gulf islands. In the Sierra de La Giganta, the variety ''discolor'' grows sparsely on the mountain sides, but in ravines it can form impenetrable groves, and is found from sea level to an elevation of .
On Cedros Island, var. ''veatchiana'' is found in alluvial fans and canyons, growing tallest in these locations, and also coastal localities where it takes a prostrate form, in the desert parts of the island.
Typical habitats of this species in the north and central parts of its range (Laguna Chapala in Baja California and
San Ignacio in Baja California Sur) are characterized by high temperatures in the summer, usually in the day, and with temperatures that can fall to on mild winter nights. Rain is mostly a result of
Eastern Pacific hurricanes from August to October, but some years have no rainfall at all while others receive some winter rain from the north.
Uses
Plants are grown in containers by
caudiciform
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
aficionados. Plants do best in full sun. Only seed grown specimens develop the
caudex
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
. This species is marginally frost tolerant, with tip damage at , death at .
Considerable quantities of the bark were once exported to Europe for use in
tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
.
References
External links
''Pachycormus discolor'' — UC Photo Gallery{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15546289, from2=Q7122116
Anacardiaceae
Caudiciform plants
Flora of Baja California
Flora of Baja California Sur
Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges
Taxa named by Paul Carpenter Standley
Taxa named by George Bentham