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Plant Fact Sheet Fouquieriaceae Ocotillo is a V-shaped or candelabra form woody shrub with cane like stems that rise upward from the base of the plant. It is widespread throughout the Southwestern U.S., and the Sonoran region of Mexico. It grows commonly on rocky slopes and plains and can be abundant on limestone soils, especially near its upper elevation limit of about 6, 000 feet. In the spring, usually after sufficient winter and spring rain, the ocotillos make bright red tubular flowers at the tips of their stems. The ocotillo makes two types of leaves. Primary leaves are produced when the stem (or shoot) grows. These leaves have a stout center midrib and petiole, which form spines that dot the canes after the leaves are shed. Secondary leaves do not leave spines after they are shed and are not formed when a shoot is growing. They grow from the axils of the spines on the stems. These secondary leaves are the ones that appear rapidly in response to rainfall, sometimes within 24 hours.
Ocotillos sprout easily from seed, but the young plants are slow growing. Ocotillos may reach maturity in 60 to 100 years, and some may be 150 to 200 years old. Ocotillo cuttings root easily and have been used traditionally in the Southwest and Northern Mexico to create living fences for gardens and corrals. The Cahuilla Indians reportedly ate the flowers and seed capsules. The Living Desert has many mature specimens of ocotillo on its grounds. They can be seen in the Upper Colorado Desert garden, the Chihuahua Desert garden, the Baja garden, and in the Ocotillo Collection garden. They are also available at the Living Desert’s native plant nursery.
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Ocotillo
Hummingbirds
and carpenter bees are major pollinators of the ocotillo. It turns out
that spring hummingbird migrations are timed to coincide with the ocotillos’
flowering period as the nectar is a crucial energy source for the migrating
birds.
