OCOTILLO 



Fouquieria splendens Engelmann 



In crossing the desert by train over the southern route to Califor- 

 nia, none of the new and curious plants observed is stranger than the 

 ocotillo. A number of slender rod-like stems eight or ten feet long 

 spring from a single root, rigidly spreading outward and upward. 

 They are dull greenish gray in color, and are armed with strong sharp 

 thorns half an inch long. When the rains come in spring, the bare 

 stems show signs of life, small green leaves appearing along them, 

 while a mass of buds develops on a short stem at the end, spreading 

 like a fish tail. Soon the buds open and the heavy bunches of flowers 

 wave slowly back and forth in the desert wind. The Mexicans form 

 paling fences about their dooryards by planting these stems close to- 

 gether in the ground and fastening them with wire. They some- 

 times take root and form a living fence, an effective barrier against 

 most animals. This curious plant belongs to a small group known as 

 the Ocotillo Family, which is nearly confined to the dry regions of 

 Mexico. 



Ocotillo has a wide range, from western Texas to southern Cali- 

 fornia and over northern Mexico. 



The specimen painted was obtained near Superior, Arizona. 



PLATE 396 



