Fouquieria splendens

Fouquieria splendens
Ocotillo during the monsoon season near Gila Bend, Arizona
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Fouquieriaceae
Genus:	Fouquieria
Species:	F. splendens
Binomial name
Fouquieria splendens Engelm.
Synonyms[1]
Fouquieria spinosa Torr.

Fouquieria splendens (commonly known as ocotillo American Spanish: , but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the Southwestern United States (southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, western Texas), and northern Mexico (as far south as Hidalgo and Guerrero).^[2][3]

Ocotillo is not a true cactus. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall, the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2–4 cm), ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months.

Individual stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m (33 ft). The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that, the branches are pole-like and only infrequently divide further, and 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.

The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.

Cultivation

An ocotillo in spring bloom on Pinyon Wash Road in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California

Planting ocotillo can be done the year around with care. Ideal ocotillo plants have been grown from stem cuttings or 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.

Ocotillo plants prefer well-drained, sandy or gravely loam soils with light to moderate amounts of organic content. Sunny, open, unrestricted locations and those where surface water does not collect are ideal for ocotillo. Transplanted ocotillo plants require irrigation to become established, but once established, they can survive on 8 inches of rainfall per year.

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.
• Owing 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 useful for those symptoms that arise due to fluid congestion. It is absorbed from the intestines into the mesenteric lymph system by way of the lacteals of the small intestinal lining. This stimulates better visceral lymph drainage into the thoracic duct and improves dietary fat absorption into the lymph system.^[4]
• Relief of fatigue is achieved by bathing in water which contains crushed flowers or roots.^[4]
• Many native American Indian tribes report that the flowers and roots of ocotillo are commonly placed over fresh wounds to slow bleeding.^[4]
• Ocotillo is also used to alleviate coughing, achy limbs, varicose veins, urinary tract infections, cervical varicosities, and benign prostate growths.^[4]

Subspecies

The three subspecies are:

• F. s. splendens Engelm.
• F. s. breviflora Hendrickson
• F. s. campanulata (Nash) Henrickson

Gallery

• 

  Octotillo forest in the Santa Rita Mountains of Arizona

• 

  Closeup of ocotillo leaves

• 

  Closeup of ocotillo thorns in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

• 

  Closeup of ocotillo flowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

• 

  Ocotillo covered with rare snow in Tucson, Arizona

• 

  Ocotillo in full bloom near Lookout Mountain, Phoenix, Arizona

• 

  Ocotillo flower with a bee above — Tucson

• 

  Ocotillo with leaves outside Tucson Mountains after a rainfall event

See also

• Big Bend National Park
• Chihuahuan Desert
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park
• McKittrick Canyon
• Sonoran Desert

References

External links

• C.Michael Hogan ed. 2010. . Encyclopedia of LifeFouquieria splendens
• Fouquiera splendensJepson Flora Project:
• Fouquieria splendensCalphotos photo gallery,University of California:
• ) in Joshua Tree National ParkFouquieria splendensOcotillo (