Whats an Ocotillo?
It’s not a cactus, though the ocotillo (pronounced o-ko-tee’-yo) is native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Desert regions of southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The only American native of the eleven species in the family Fouquieria, F. splendens can be found on dry, rocky slopes below 5,000 feet. It is a funnel-shaped plant with several woody, mostly unbranched spiny and straight stems—often called canes—growing to 30 feet in height. It is dry most of the year, but after heavy rain leaves appear followed by clusters of red flowers atop the branches. With dryness the leaves and flowers fall, the cycle repeating again after rain.
