CONSPICUOUS VEGETATION OF REGION 27 



has its own type of adaptation, and each plant its own 

 history, and its ancestry, and its struggle, that if fully 

 recorded, would make a fascinating story. 



One of the most typical of desert plants, the ocotilla or 

 Devil's walking stick (Fouquieria splendens), grows in 

 great abundance over the hot, rocky slopes near the 

 Carlsbad Cave, and stands for most of the year without 

 leaves or flowers, a mere cluster of dry spiny poles 

 rising from a single base to a height of eight or ten feet. 

 In early May, if there has been a recent rain, it sends 

 out a dense coat of small green leaves about as long as 

 the thorns, and a little later, long spikes of brilliant red 

 flowers from the tip of each stem. For a brief time 

 these flaming banners give color to the hillsides, and the 

 nectar-laden flowers are the chief attraction for many 

 insects, hummingbirds, orioles, and other birds of in- 

 sectivorous and nectar-eating habits. Soon the seeds 

 have ripened, the leaves have dropped off, and the 

 naked spiny poles stand for eleven months or longer, 

 waiting another springtime or another rain. 



Over the dryest mesas of the Pecos Valley and ex- 

 tending up on the hot slopes of the ridges to the level 

 of the great cave the creosote bush, with distinctively 

 flat-topped, triangular form, and dark, evergreen leaves, 

 is always a striking feature. Without thorns, its soft 

 branches and green leaves would seem to offer tempting 

 forage for all browsing beasts, but a thin varnish rich 

 in creosote, covering the leaves and twigs, renders it 

 not only inedible but immune to evaporation and the 

 effects of long, hot periods of drought. In May, if 

 there has been a recent rain, these bushes burst forth 



