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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Ocotillo
| image = Ocotillo02262006.JPG
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Ocotillos near [[Palm Springs, California]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Fouquieria]]ceae
| genus = ''[[Fouquieria]]''
| species = '''''F. splendens'''''
| binomial = ''Fouquieria splendens''
| binomial_authority = [[George Engelmann|Engelm.]]
}}
{{for|the census-designated place|Ocotillo, California}}
The '''ocotillo''' (''[[Fouquieria]] splendens'' - also called the '''coachwhip''', '''Jacob's staff''', and the '''vine cactus''') is a curious, and unique [[desert]] [[plant]] of the [[southwestern United States]] and northern [[Mexico]]. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the [[Plant stem|stems]] are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2-4 cm) ovate [[Leaf|leaves]], which may remain for weeks or even months.
[[Image:Ocotillo-with-bee.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Ocotillo flower with a bee above — Tucson, AZ]]
The stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m. 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 red [[flower]]s appear in spring and summer, occurring as a group of small tube shapes at the tip of the stem.
Ocotillo poles are a common [[fence|fencing]] material in their native region, and often take root to form a living fence. Owing to light weight and an interesting pattern, these have been used for canes or walking sticks.
Three [[subspecies]] are accepted by some botanists:
*''Fouquieria splendens'' subsp. ''splendens''
*''Fouquieria splendens'' subsp. ''breviflora'' [[Henrickson]]
*''Fouquieria splendens'' subsp. ''campanulata'' ([[George Valentine Nash|Nash]]) Henrickson
==References==
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4359,4360,0,4361 Jepson Flora Project: ''Fouquiera splendens'']
*[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=ucjeps&where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Fouquieria+splendens Calphotos: ''Fouquiera splendens'']
<gallery>
Image:Ocotillo_leaves-300px.jpg|Closeup of ocotillo leaves.
Image:Ocotillothron02262006.JPG|Closeup of ocotillo thorns. Taken in [[Anza-Borrego Desert State Park]]
Image:Ocotilloflower02262006.JPG|Closeup of ocotillo flowers. Taken in [[Anza-Borrego Desert State Park]]
Image:Ocotillo-600.jpg|Ocotillo covered with rare [[snow]] in [[Tucson]]
Image:Ocotillo.jpg|Ocotillo in full bloom. Taken near Lookout Mountain, [[Phoenix, AZ]]
</gallery>
{{commons|Fouquieria splendens}}
[[Category:Ericales]]
[[Category:Flora of California]]
[[Category:Flora of the Sonoran Desert]]
[[Category:Flora of Southwestern United States]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Ocotillo
| image = Ocotillo02262006.JPG
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Ocotillos near [[Palm Springs, California]]
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Fouquieria]]ceae
| genus = ''[[Fouquieria]]''
| species = '''''F. splendens'''''
| binomial = ''Fouquieria splendens''
| binomial_authority = [[George Engelmann|Engelm.]]
}}
{{for|the census-designated place|Ocotillo, California}}
The '''ocotillo''' (''[[Fouquieria]] splendens'' - also called the '''coachwhip''', '''Jacob's staff''', and the '''vine cactus''') is a curious, and unique [[desert]] [[plant]] of the [[southwestern United States]] and northern [[Mexico]]. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the [[Plant stem|stems]] are partly green. With rainfall the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2-4 cm) ovate [[Leaf|leaves]], which may remain for weeks or even months.
[[Image:Ocotillo-with-bee.jpg|thumb|left|280px|Ocotillo flower with a bee above — Tucson, AZ]]
The stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m. 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 red [[flower]]s appear in spring and summer, occurring as a group of small tube shapes at the tip of the stem.
Ocotillo poles are a common [[fence|fencing]] material in their native region, and often take root to form a living fence. Owing to light weight and an interesting pattern, these have been used for canes or walking sticks.
Three [[subspecies]] are accepted by some botanists:
*''Fouquieria splendens'' subsp. ''splendens''
*''Fouquieria splendens'' subsp. ''breviflora'' [[Henrickson]]
*''Fouquieria splendens'' subsp. ''campanulata'' ([[George Valentine Nash|Nash]]) Henrickson
==References==
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4359,4360,0,4361 Jepson Flora Project: ''Fouquiera splendens'']
*[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=ucjeps&where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Fouquieria+splendens Calphotos: ''Fouquiera splendens'']
<gallery>
Image:Ocotillo_leaves-300px.jpg|Closeup of ocotillo leaves.
Image:Ocotillothron02262006.JPG|Closeup of ocotillo thorns. Taken in [[Anza-Borrego Desert State Park]]
Image:Ocotilloflower02262006.JPG|Closeup of ocotillo flowers. Taken in [[Anza-Borrego Desert State Park]]
Image:Ocotillo-600.jpg|Ocotillo covered with rare [[snow]] in [[Tucson]]
Image:Ocotillo.jpg|Ocotillo in full bloom. Taken near Lookout Mountain, [[Phoenix, AZ]]
</gallery>
{{commons|Fouquieria splendens}}
[[Category:Ericales]]
[[Category:Flora of California]]
[[Category:Flora of the Sonoran Desert]]
[[Category:Flora of Southwestern United States]]