Research and Conservation in Southern Sonora, Mexico

Bursera fagaroides var. elongata (torote papelío, copal, cuajiote)

Torote papelío grows to 26 feet (8m) with a fairly full profile; it is deciduous during the dry season. Its bark sheds regularly, producing pale yellowish-white, paper-thin draperies. Inconspicuous flowers produce a fruit that will dry and persist long after the branches turn bare. Birds feast on the dry fruit.

Bursera fagaroides near Alamos, Sonora. Photo: S.A. Meyer	Bursera fagaroides with peeling bark near Alamos, Sonora. Photo: Mark Dimmitt
Bark of Bursera fagaroides in peeling stage; near Alamos, Sonora. Photo: Mark Dimmitt	Bursera fagaroides after bark has completely peeled; near Alamos, Sonora. Photo: Mark Dimmitt

Bursera fagaroides leaves and trunk after peeling. Some plants such as this one have a high density of lenticels. Photo: Mark Dimmitt

Bursera fagaroides fruit. Photo: Mark Dimmitt