Cactus Monday: Ocotillo and Beavertail Cactus

Ocotillo, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, CA

Ocotillo ( pronounced as oh-ko-tee-oh) is a unique desert plant of the Southwest and Northern Mexico. It is also known as coachwhip andvine cactus, but though it may often be referred in print as a cactus because of its other common name, it is actually really not a member of cactus family.

Dwarfed By Ocotillo

Ocotillo is a woody shrub which is usually 5 cm at the base and may grow to a height of 10 meters. 

A Woody Shrub

Notice that ocotillo branches heavily at the base, but above that, ocotillo seldom branches out further. The branches are pole like and the bright red flowers appear during spring and summer. 

Ocotillo Bright Red Flower

 The flowers of ocotillo are pollinated by hummingbirds and/or carpenter bees. Ocotillo loses its leaves in dry periods, and actually at other times of the year may simply look brown. However, just within 48 hours after a rain, the leaves re-appear! 

Towering Ocotillos

Ocotillo, Survivors of Heat and Drought

Ocotillos survive extreme heat and drought in the desert by losing its leaves so that it conserves moisture. Its stems are covered with a thick water resistant cuticle.

Ocotillo in Badlands

Ocotillo Surviving the Badlands

( you can click on the image to enlarge and see the ocotillo, which I encircled )

The presence of ocotillo in badlands suggest how much they can survive an area with extreme drought that other plants, even cactus, are not even seen in the badlands. 

Barrel Cactus, Brittlebush and Ocotillo

However, since this post is my entry for Cactus Monday, and ocotillo is not really a cactus despite being commonly referred to as a cactus, perhaps being seen only in the desert, I am adding here pictures of beavertail cactus blooms.

Beavertail Cactus in Bloom

Beavertail cactus has blooms of varying colors, the two most common I saw are yellow and magenta. 

The blooms usually are observed from March to June. Beveartail cactus is a smaller prickly pear cactus, you can find out more about prickly cactus and the busy bees in my June 17 post here. 

I will be leaving you with an interesting rock formation at Joshua Tree National Park, 

Skull Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Just as interesting as the plants in the desert, so are the rocks which are weathered into various shapes in the forms.

For more of cactus Monday, please visit Teri's Painted Daisies.

♥♥