The University of Arizona Press
When: Thursday, February 1, 2024
Time: 7 p.m., doors open at 6 p.m.
Where: Sky Islands Public High School, 6000 E. 14th St., Tucson (location map)
Judith Becerra and David Yetman will show slides from their new book, Elephant Trees, Copales, and Cuajiotes, A Natural History of Bursera at the Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society meeting. The authors will go behind the scenes into their travel and research adventures for this book. The meeting is free and open to the public; the Society will give away door prizes and free plants. The book will be available for purchase (credit or debit cards only), and authors will be available to sign copies of their book.
About the book:
Predominantly native to the U.S. Southwest, Mexico, and the Caribbean, the various species of Bursera have been prized throughout history for their distinctive aromas, medicinal properties, workable wood, and attractive appearance. Despite its extensive past and current use as incense in religious ceremonies, and its resourceful antiseptic ability to treat a range of maladies, no comprehensive book exists on this vital yet overlooked plant. Highlighting bursera’s importance and impact within the desert Southwest and Mexico, this volume will be the first book to describe the ecology, evolution, ethnobotany, and peculiar chemistry of the many species of Bursera.
In the United States, Bursera is represented by the short, contorted, and aromatic elephant tree of the hot Sonoran Desert and the stately and colorful gumbo limbo of southern Florida, while in the torrid lowlands of southern Mexico, the engines of evolution have produced forests dominated by dozens of species of Bursera, each with a peculiar ecological slot.
