Bursera microphylla is the most northerly member of the Burseraceae in North America and also perhaps the most xeromorphic (desert-adapted) species within the genus as it thrives in the extremely arid desert hills and mountains in northwest Sonora.

[5][6][7] A few individuals can be found in the Fish Creek Badlands of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, in a location between the Vallecito Mountains and Ocotillo Wells.

Bursera microphylla reaches up to 10 m (33 ft)[10] in height and its bark is light gray to white, with younger branches having a reddish color.

As a response to rain and warmer temperatures, B. hindsiana, B. laxiflora, and other more tropical species in Sonora begin to leaf out at any time of the year.

Gray Vireos and Ash- throated Flycatchers feed heavily on the ripe fruits of B. microphylla in the Puerto Lobos region of Sonora, Mexico during the winter months.

[12] It has been suggested that the exfoliating papery bark of many of the trivalvate species may serve to attract the attention of birds and other animals from a distance as it rustles in the breeze (Rzedowski and Kruse 1979).