Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)
Candlewood Family

Found: Slopes and alluvial fans to 3,000' in the Colorado and Mojave deserts.

About: Ocotillo (oh-koh-TEE-yoh) is 6’ to 25’ tall with spiny branches and deeply red flowers. It is not related to cacti, but it is just as dangerous!

The branches are green-barked and are photosynthetic. After a rain the branches become covered in small leaves, which grow to full size within five days. The leaves are lost within a number of weeks, and the cycle, which may occur six times in one year, is repeated with the next rains.

The flowers provide an important food source for hummingbirds making their migration from Mexico into the rest of the American west.

When cultivated in rows, these plants create an impenetrable fence.

Ocotillo are long lived, a couple of centuries is common.