Ocotillos produce clusters of bright red flowers at their stem tips, which explain the plant’s name. Ocotillo means “little torch” in Spanish — Images by kenne
Waiting It Out
Desert display as Saguaro’s spiny arms raise to the darkening blue sky. Days of heat waves chase Ocotillo flower buds drooping slowly in the mauve air very still … and then, with the distant rumble of thunder and a flash of lightening, comes a first drop. Coming fast, the rain begins a flood within the gulch and there, from nowhere, from the nothing dust, from the ether reconstituted as out of a mirage appears by the side of the road … a toad.
Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) Blossom in Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Very little rain in Sabino Canyon hasn’t stopped the cycles of life from taking place. Most of the year, Ocotillos look like a bunch of gray sticks. But in the spring, are during the summer monsoon season, the sticks leaf out. However, the red flame blossoms only happen in the spring.
Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) Leaves — Image by kenne
Fouquieria splendens is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. While semi-succulent and a desert plant, Ocotillo is more closely related to tea and blueberries than cactuses. Source: Wikipedia
A Spoon Full of Blossoms (Ocotillo) — Image by kenne
