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Ocotillo
( Fouquieria splendens )
Fouquieria splendens
More Photos at CalPhotos
More Info at Jepson eFlora
Calflora
Click on blue squares to see occurrence records.
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11 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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About Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens)
11 Nurseries Carry This Plant
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Ocotillo is a curious-looking and unique desert plant of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Common names include Ocotillo, Coachwhip, Jacob's staff, and Vine Cactus, although it 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 centimeter ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months. The stems may reach a diameter of 5 centimeters at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 meters, but growth is very slow. Large specimens in the wild may be 200 years old. 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 plant produces two types of leaves. The first leaves on new growth produce a petiole (leaf stalk) which hardens into a sharp spine after the leaf drops off. Subsequent leaves sprout from the base of the spine. The bright red flowers appear in spring and summer, occurring as a group of small tube shapes at the tip of the stem. They are pollinated by hummingbirds or carpenter bees.
To learn more, visit the Jepson Herbarium's YouTube channel and watch a short video about this species.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MV_D78A0jw&t=2s
Plant Description
Plant Type
Shrub, Succulent
Size
10 - 33 ft tall
15 ft wide
Form
Upright, Fountain, Upright Columnar
Growth Rate
Very Slow, Fast
Fragrance
None
Flower Color
Red
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer
Wildlife Supported
Hummingbirds, Verdin and other desert bird, insects
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1
confirmed
)
SHOW ALL
Hemileuca electra
Hemileuca electra
Landscaping Information
Sun
Full Sun
Moisture
Extremely Low
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established
Nurseries
Carried by 11
Ease of Care
Moderately Easy
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 20° F
Soil Drainage
Fast
Soil Description
Prefers rocky, sandy or decomposed granite soil. Soil PH: 7.0 - 9.0
Common uses
Deer Resistant
Companion Plants
Creosote Bush, Brittlebush, Jojoba, Blue Paloverde, White Bursage, Chuparosa, Barrel Cactus,
Desert
Lavender, Indigo Bush, Apricot Mallow, Opuntia spp, numerous annual wildflowers
Propagation
?
It can be propagated from cuttings, but results are variable. For propagating by seed: No treatment.
Natural Setting
Site Type
Native to the Colorado Desert (and slightly extending into the Mojave Desert), it is found in very arid slopes, canyons, washes and alluvial fans in fast draining sandy, gravelly soil, often among boulders but also in pure sand
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 2.5" - 17.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.25" - 2.31", Coldest Month: 41.7" - 63.0", Hottest Month: 71.5" - 89.1", Humidity: 2.01" - 42.79", Elevation: -187" - 4171"
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Ocotillo
Fouquieria splendens
Sources include:
Wikipedia
. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License
. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the
California Consortia of Herbaria
, Sunset information provided by
Jepson Flora Project
. Propogation from seed information provided by the
Santa Barbara Botanical Garden
from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include
CalPhotos
,
Wikimedia Commons
, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include
Calflora
,
CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online
,
Jepson Flora Project
,
Las Pilitas
,
Theodore Payne
,
Tree of Life
,
The Xerces Society
, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.
Links:
Jepson eFlora Taxon Page
CalPhotos
Wikipedia
Calflora
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