Ocotillo (O KO TEE' YO)

UPDATE:  To my horror, I have found that my research on this plant was quite faulty!!  Here is the content of a comment I received on this entry:
I wanted to write you concerning the article you wrote on the ocotillo.  It is commonly mistaken for a cactus but it is actually a plant.  The leaf on the plant we have grows just above the base of the thorn but the leaf is not a part of the thorn.  There may be a variety that is actually a part of the thorn, not sure, but the one we have the leaf comes out just above the thorn at the base.  Thought you may want to check the info out for yourself because I am not a botanist by any means.  Just wanted to make sure someone who lives far from the desert and had never seen the plant didn't actually mistake it for a cactus.
Thank you, Cherie, for enlightening us!  (I did wonder about those new little leaves growing above the thorns...)


My earlier post on cactus (with a little help from a kind commenter) has inspired me to try making cactus jelly.  We will have to wait until later in the summer to do that, but in the meantime I have suddenly become interested in photographing and learning about the other species we have in our yard. This one is my favorite -- ocotillo.  This pd photo is nicer than the one I took with houses in the background.

Ocotillo are tall and spindly and grow up to about 20 ft. high, depending on the variety.  They bloom from March to June (or later), depending on rainfall.  This one blooms each time it rains (which is not often this time of year!) or whenever it is watered.  I love the flame-like clusters of flowers at the top of each stalk, because they seem to add a touch of gracefulness to the harshness of the environment here. They are beautiful waving in the breeze.

(Above photo by Amy.)

Amy pulled one of the flowers apart and gave us a great view of the stamen, anthers, and pollen.

The bark of this cactus is beautiful.  Young stalks are green and look like several stalks have been glued together.  As the plant matures, the "seams" separate and dry, leaving beautiful variegation.

The strong thorn is actually a part of the leaf stem. When the leaf dries up the thorn is left.

When the leaves have all dried up, only the stalk and thorns are left.  But as soon as it rains, here come little buds, just above the thorns.  I prefer these obvious thorns over the nearly invisible, fine stickers that many other cacti are armed with!

And for those of you who are trivia buffs or mathematicians, I have two more pieces of interesting news. One, Alison discovered the Fibonacci spiral when she looked down the length of a cut piece of ocotillo stalk. Two, if you are ever stranded out in the desert wilderness, and you just happen to have a match, and you also just happen to have a good, dry piece of ocotillo, you can start a good signal fire.  Burning ocotillo sends up a black, greasy smoke. (File that away with my earlier tip on Elmer's glue.)