Burseraceae

This is a more desert adapted Bursera. Most Sonoran Burseras grow in thornscrub or tropical deciduous forest where there are prolonged periods without rain, but there is always a reliable growing season during the monsoons. Bursera microphylla (and to a lesser extent, Bursera hindsiana) grow in extreme aridity.

A thorn-scrub and TDF species similar to Bursera fagaroides, but seems to be slightly more sensitive to frost and/or dry conditions. This species has longer lanceolate leaves with teeth along the entire margin of the leaf, unlike B. fagaroides which sometimes only has a few larger teeth on the outer 1/2 of the leaf.

In our region Bursera laxiflora is a thorn-scrub species and commonly grows in more exposed parts of this plant community. In Sonora it often has a less ascending and more shrub-like stature than B. fagaroides and B. lancifolia. In my experience its northernmost extension is an exposed hill on the road between Magdalena and Cucurpe.