Fouquieria splendens

Fouquieria splendens, commonly known as ocotillo, is a plant indigenous to the Mojave, Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Colorado deserts in the Southwestern United States, and northern Mexico.
Ocotillos look desiccated on the outside, but they are semi-succulent; it is more closely related to the tea plant and blueberries than to cactuses. It regenerates leaves after rainfall. They can be planted as garden ornamentals.

Names

The name ocotillo comes from the Nahuatl word ocotl meaning "torch".
It is also known as buggywhip, coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus.

Botany

It grows in dry, generally rocky desert soils.
An ocotillo plant reaches maturity at 60–100 years, it grows to a maximum height of. It consists of a clump of 40–75 straight and slender greenish branches covered with thorns; each stem may reach a diameter of 6 cm at the base. The branches have a rough bark, they produce small, ovate leaves 2–4 cm long directly from their sides. With rainfall, the plant quickly becomes lush with which may remain for weeks or even months. 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.
Bright crimson flowers appear especially on mature plants after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall; they are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees. The flowers last for a period of between one and a half to 2 months.

Cultivation

Ocotillo can be planted year-round with care. Ideal plants have been grown in pots from stem cuttings and from seed. Transplanting large bare-root plants has marginal success. They should be planted to the original growing depth and, as with cacti, in their original directional orientation: the original south side of the plant, which has become more heat- and sunlight-resistant, should again face the brighter, hotter southern direction. If their direction is not marked, success is again limited.

Uses

Individual ocotillo stems are sometimes used as poles as a fencing material in their native region, and often take root to form a living fence.
Due to their light weight and interesting pattern, ocotillo branches have been used for canes or walking sticks.
Fresh flowers are sometimes used in salads and have a tangy flavor.
Flowers are collected, dried, and used for tisanes.
According to Medicinal Plants of the Desert and Canyon West, a fresh bark tincture can be made by chopping or snipping freshly removed bark into 1/2-inch pieces. It is said to be useful for those symptoms that arise due to fluid congestion and to be absorbed from the intestines into the mesenteric lymph system by way of the lacteals of the small intestinal lining. This is believed to stimulate better visceral lymph drainage into the thoracic duct and improve dietary fat absorption into the lymph system.
Bathing in water that contains crushed flowers or roots has been used to relieve fatigue.
Native Americans place the flowers and roots of ocotillo over fresh wounds to slow bleeding.
Ocotillo is also used to alleviate coughing, achy limbs, varicose veins, urinary tract infections, cervical varicosities, and benign prostate growths.

Subspecies

The three subspecies are:

F. s. splendens Engelm.
F. s. breviflora Hendrickson
F. s. campanulata Henrickson