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Range
Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona, extreme southern California and northwestern Mexico to 2,500 feet elevation
Habitat
Rocky dry slopes of desert mountains
Flowers
Small, 5-petaled, creamy-white flowers, less than 1/4-inch wide, appear in the early summer.
Fruit
An aromatic, 1/4-inch-long red fruit appears in autumn. It has a curving, elliptic stalk and contains one nutlet.
Description
The Elephant Tree is the rare, northernmost species of small, aromatic, tropical family which is extremely susceptible to cold. Their short, very stout, tapered trunks and branches are reminiscent of elephants legs and trunks, hence their name. They have an open, but sparse crown, and can grow to a height of about 25 feet in the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja. In Arizona where the winters are colder it seldom reaches 12 feet. When crushed, the glossy, dark green leaves smell like camphor.
The Elephant Tree's scientific name means "small-leafed." Dull, light-green, oblong leaves about an inch long, with a winged axis, are composed of tiny leaflets. The twigs are reddish-brown, and the bark is thin and flaky, white on the outside with lower layers green, then red.
Elephant Trees are so rare that for many years, skeptics refused to acknowledge their existence. It wasn't until 1937 that this species was confirmed growing in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert Park region. In the 1980s, specimens were also discovered in the foothills of the Santa Rosa Mountains, 20 miles to the north. In Arizona it is only found in South Mountain Park and in the Harquahala Mountains of western Arizona. Native Americans considered medicines prepared from the Elephant Tree very valuable and powerful.
Sources: Shrubs and trees of the Southwest Deserts by Janice Emily Bowers; Southwest Parks and Monuments Association
Deserts by James A MacMahon; The Audubon Society Nature Guides
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