Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Bursera graveolens (Kunth) Triana & Planch.

palo santo, sasafras, crispin, incense tree

Open Bursera forest near Bahía Sullivan, Santiago. Photo: Frank Bungartz, CDF, 2006.
Open Bursera forest near Bahía Sullivan, Santiago. Photo: Frank Bungartz, CDF, 2006.

A branching tree with twigs smelling of incense. Most of the year the tree is leafless, but in the rainy season it quickly produces thin blue-green leaves with toothed edges. The olive shapes fruit turn bright red when ripe, and burst open to reveal black seeds inside.

The name graveolens means “strong-smelling”. This refers to the plant´s aromatic resin that is produced when a branch is broken (McMullen 1999).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Magnoliopsida (= Dicotyledoneae)

Order
Sapindales

Family
Burseraceae

Genus
Bursera

Species
graveolens

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Elaphrium graveolens Kunth, Spondias edmonstonei Hook.f. fide Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew & Missouri Botanical Garden (2010)

Taxon origin: Native

Status

Vulnerable

Distribution

Distribution: The native range of this species is Mexico to NW. Venezuela (west) and Peru (south), including Galápagos (POWO, 2023).

References

  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.
  • Lawesson, J.E. (s.a.) Pers. obs. field notes, collections 1985-7.
  • Adsersen, H. (s.a.) Personal observations Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished Manuscript.
  • Schofield, E.K. (1984) Plants of the Galapagos Islands. Field Guide and Travel Journal. Universe Books, New York, 159 pp.
  • Abbott, I. Abbott, L.K. (1973) New distribution records of 65 plant species within the Galapagos Archipelago. Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS), unpublished.
  • Jaramillo, P. (1998) Distribución Espacial de la Vegetación Vascular y Dispersión de Especies Introducidas dentro del Parque Nacional Galápagos. Tesis de Doctorado en Biología, Universidad Central del Ecuador. Especialización ECOLOGIA DE POBLACIONES.
  • Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
  • McMullen, C.K. (1999) Flowering plants of the Galapagos. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 370 pp.
  • Hooker, J.D. (1847) An Enumeration of the Plants of the Galapagos Archipelago; with descriptions of those which are new. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 20: 163-233.
  • Valencia, R. Pitman, N., León-Yánez, S. & Jørgensen, P.M. (2000) Libro Rojo de las Plantas Endémicas del Ecuador. Herbario QCA, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. Ecuador 2000 i–iv, 1–489.
  • Linsley, E.G. Chemsak, J.A. (1966) Cerambycidae of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 4th ser., 33(8): 197-235.
  • Atkinson, R. Guézou, A. & Jaramillo, P. (2009) Siémbrame en tu jardín - Plantas nativas para jardines en Galápagos. Fundación Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador, 151 pp.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
  • Robinson, B.L. (1902) Flora of the Galapagos Islands. Papers from the Hopkins-Stanford Expedition to the Galapgaos Islands. Proc. Amer. Acad. 38(4): 78-270.
  • Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
  • Christophersen, E. (1932) A Collection of Plants from the Galápagos Islands. Nyt Mag. Naturvidenskaberne 70: 67-95.
  • Svenson, H.K. (1935) Plants of the Astor Expedition, 1930 (Galapagos and Cocos Islands). Am. J. Bot. 22: 208-277.
  • Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
  • Schönitzer, K. (1975) Galápagos Plants. Privately Published, Quito: 1-43.
  • Schofield, E.K. (1971) Field Guide to Some Common Galápagos Plants. Lindblad Travel, Inc., NY: 1-42.
  • Guerrero, A. Tye, A. (2009) Darwin's Finches as seed predators and dispersers. The Wilson Journal Of Ornithology 121 (4):752-764, 2009
  • Heleno, R. Blake, S., Jaramillo, P., Traveset, A., Vargas, P. & Nogales, M. (2011) Frugivory and seed dispersal in the Galápagos: what is the state of the art? Integrative Zoology 6: 110-128.
  • Blake, S. Wikelski, M., Cabrera, F., Guézou, A., Silva, M., Sadeghayobi, E., Yackulik, C. & Jaramillo, P. (2011) Gardeners of Galapagos? Seed dispersal by giant tortoises. Journal of Biogeography (submission): 1-41.
  • Restrepo, A. Bush, M., Correa-Metrio, A., Conroy, J., Gardener, M. R., Jaramillo, P., Steinitz-Kannan, M., Overpeck, J. & Colinvaux, P. (2011) Impacts of climate variability and human colonization on the vegetation of the Galápagos Islands. Ecology: 1-42.
  • Weeks, A. Tye, A. (2009) Phylogeography of palo santo trees (Bursera graveolens and Brusera malacophylla; Burseraceae) in the Galápagos archipielago Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 161, 396-410.
  • Atkinson, I. A. E. (1987) Algunas consideraciones sobre la cartografía y clasificación de la vegetación en las Islas Galápagos. Memorias. Taller de Investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg. 114- 131.
  • Grant, P.R. Grant, B.R. (1987) Interacciones entre plantas y animales: consumo de semillas por los Pinzones de Darwin. Memorias. Investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg.199-209
  • Van der Werff, H.H. (1987) Los Helechos como indicadores de tipos de vegetación en las Islas Galápagos. Memorias. Investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg.88-103
  • Fosberg, F. R. (1987) Vegetación inalterada en Fernandina, 1964 Memorias. Investigación Botánica y Manejo en Galápagos. Pg. 66-74
  • Cayot, L. J. (1987) Ecology of Giant Tortoise (Geochelone elephantopus)in the Galápagos Islands. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Biology in the Graduate School of Syracuse University.
  • Quintana, C. Girardello, M., Barfod, A. & Balslev, H. (2016) Diversity patterns, environmental drivers and changes in vegetation composition in dry inter-Andean valleys. Journal of Plant Ecology: 1–15
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (2022) Plants of the world online POWO (2022): Plants of the world online. Published on the Internet; Https://powo.science.kew.org/