boojum tree

[boo-juhm]

noun

1. a tree, Idria columnaris, native to Baja California, having spreading spiny branches, deciduous leaves, and yellow flowers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of boojum tree¹

1960–65; after the boojum, an imaginary creature invented by Lewis Carroll in the poem The Hunting of the Snark (1876)

Example Sentences

Happily, two of the garden’s most famous trees withstood the winds — the Majestic Oak, the oldest oak on the grounds, and the tall Boojum tree in the back reaches of the garden.

From Los Angeles Times