Fouquieria splendens
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Redirect|Ocotillo|the census-designated place|Ocotillo, California}}
{{speciesbox
|name = Ocotillo
|image = Ocotillo GB.jpg
|image_caption = Ocotillo near Gila Bend, Arizona
|status = G5
|status_system = TNC
|genus = Fouquieria
|species = splendens
|authority = Engelm.
|synonyms = Fouquieria spinosa Torr.
}}
{{Commons category|Fouquieria splendens}}
Fouquieria splendens, commonly known as ocotillo,{{efn|{{IPAc-en|Q|k|@|'|t|i:|j|ou}}, {{IPA|es-419|okoˈtiʝo|lang}}}} is a plant indigenous to the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Colorado deserts in the Southwestern United States (southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), and northern Mexico (as far south as Hidalgo and Guerrero).[http://bonap.net/MapGallery/County/Fouquieria%20splendens.png Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map]McVaugh, R. 2001. Ochnaceae to Loasaceae. 3: 9–751. In R. McVaugh (ed.) Flora Novo-Galiciana. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Ocotilos look dessicated on the outside, but they are semi-succulent; it is more closely related to the tea plant and blueberries than to cactuses. It regenerates leaves after rainfall. They can be planted as garden ornamentals.
Names
The name ocotillo comes from the Nahuatl word ocotl meaning "torch".{{cite book |last1=Austin |first1=Daniel F. |title=Baboquivari Mountain Plants: Identification, Ecology, and Ethnobotany |url=https://www.google.com.my/books/edition/Baboquivari_Mountain_Plants/nnFVFdp0dWIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ocotillo+names&pg=PA152&printsec=frontcover |year=2010 |location=Tucson, Arizona, USA |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=978-0-8165-2837-0 |pages=152-153 }}
It is also known as buggywhip, coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus.
Botany
File:Fouquieria splendens distribution.png
It grows in dry, generally rocky desert soils.{{Cite web |last1=Schultheis |first1=Lisa M. |last2=Stone |first2=William J. |date=2012 |title=Fouquieria splendens subsp. splendens |url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=77256 |website=Jepson eFlora |publisher=University of California, Berkeley |access-date=January 10, 2021}}
An ocotillo plant reaches maturity at 60–100 years,{{rp|320}} it grows to a maximum height of {{convert|10-15|ft|m}}. It consists of a clump of 40–75 straight and slender greenish branches covered with thorns;{{rp|310}} each stem may reach a diameter of 6 cm at the base.{{rp|104}} The branches have a rough bark,{{cite journal |last=Henrickson |first1=James |date=April 1969 |title=Anatomy of periderm and cortex of Fouquieriaceae |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/30ba/13c7717fdb125df7f8f143d599d66726a023.pdf |journal=Aliso |volume=7 |pages=97-126 }}{{rp|102}} they produce small, ovate leaves 2–4 cm long directly from their sides.{{cite journal |last=Darrow |first=Robert A. |title=Vegetative and Floral Growth of Fouquieria Splendens |journal=Ecology |date=July 1943 |volume=24 |issue=3 |pages=310–322 |doi=10.2307/1930533 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1930533|url-access=subscription }} With rainfall, the plant quickly becomes lush with which may remain for weeks or even months. Specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine.{{citation needed | date=March 2025}}
{{gallery|mode=packed
|Ocotillo plant in Joshua Tree National Park.jpg|Ocotillo plant in Joshua Tree National Park
|Ocotillo leaves-300px.jpg|Closeup of leaves
|Ocotillothron02262006.JPG|Closeup of thorns in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
}}
Bright crimson flowers appear especially on mature plants after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall; they are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each stem.{{rp|321}} Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.{{citation needed | date=March 2025}} The flowers last for a period of between one and a half to 2 months.
{{gallery|mode=packed
|Ocotillo.jpg|Ocotillo in full bloom near Lookout Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona
|Ocotillo Flower.jpg|An ocotillo flower with visible needles
|Ocotilloflower02262006.JPG|Closeup of ocotillo flowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
}}
Cultivation
File:Fouquieria splendens-02.JPG, California]]
Ocotillo can be planted year-round with care. Ideal plants have been grown in pots from stem cuttings and from seed. Transplanting large bare-root plants has marginal success. They should be planted to the original growing depth and, as with cacti, in their original directional orientation: the original south side of the plant, which has become more heat- and sunlight-resistant, should again face the brighter, hotter southern direction. If their direction is not marked, success is again limited.{{cite web|access-date=2024-11-07 |date=2010-08-31 |first=Jacqueline |language=en |last=Soule |title=Soule Garden: Ocotillo, singular desert plants with striking look |url=https://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/el_sol/article_403e46e0-7179-5dc2-bdf3-dd6e46448045.html |website=Tucson Local Media}}
Uses
- Individual ocotillo stems are sometimes used as poles as a fencing material in their native region, and often take root to form a living fence.
- Due to their light weight and interesting pattern, ocotillo branches have been used for canes or walking sticks.
- Fresh flowers are sometimes used in salads and have a tangy flavor.
- Flowers are collected, dried, and used for tisanes.
- According to Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West (a book published in 1989 by Museum of New Mexico Press), a fresh bark tincture can be made by chopping or snipping freshly removed bark into 1/2-inch pieces. It is said to be useful for those symptoms that arise due to fluid congestion and to be absorbed from the intestines into the mesenteric lymph system by way of the lacteals of the small intestinal lining. This is believed to stimulate better visceral lymph drainage into the thoracic duct and improve dietary fat absorption into the lymph system.[http://medplant.nmsu.edu/ocotillo.html Maya Strunk (Spring 2001 Independent study) at Medicinal Plants of the Southwest]
- Bathing in water that contains crushed flowers or roots has been used to relieve fatigue.
- Native Americans place the flowers and roots of ocotillo over fresh wounds to slow bleeding.
- Ocotillo is also used to alleviate coughing, achy limbs, varicose veins, urinary tract infections, cervical varicosities, and benign prostate growths.
Subspecies
The three subspecies are:
Gallery
File:Ocotillo Forest Santa Rita Mountains Arizona 2014.jpg|Ocotillo forest in the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona
File:Ocotillo-600.jpg|Ocotillo covered with rare snow in Tucson, Arizona
File:Ocotillo-with-bee.jpg|Ocotillo flower with a bee above — Tucson
File:Ocotillotucson.JPG|Ocotillo with leaves outside Tucson Mountains after a rainfall event
File:Ocotillo in the City of Rocks State Park's desert botanical garden.jpg|Ocotillo in the City of Rocks State Park's desert botanical garden
Note
{{Notelist}}
References
{{Reflist | 30em}}
The Splendid Ocotillo, Cornett, J. W., published by Nature Trails Press, 2018.
External links
- [http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Fouquieria+splendens Calflora Database: Fouquieria splendens (Ocotillo)]
- [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=77256 Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Fouquiera splendens]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=ucjeps&where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Fouquieria+splendens UC CalPhotos gallery of Fouquieria splendens]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q138966}}
Category:North American desert flora
Category:Flora of the California desert regions
Category:Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert
Category:Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Category:Flora of Northwestern Mexico
Category:Flora of Northeastern Mexico
Category:Flora of Baja California
Category:Natural history of the Colorado Desert
Category:Flora of the Mexican Plateau