Fouquieria splendens
General Information
Group: Dicot
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Shrub
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Solanales
Family: Fouquieriaceae – Ocotillo family
Genus: Fouqieria – Ocotillo
Species: Splendens – Ocotillo
Native Range
California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico
Additional Information
- Ocotillo means “little pine” in Spanish
- Not a cactus
- Spines
- Grows leaves with rain and drops them when the ground dries up
- Long tubular red flowers, edible
- Pollinated by hummingbirds, very important to their migration patterns
- Stems used by Native Americans to build fences; also tea made from the bark and leaves to cure cough, aches
- Well-adapted to the desert. Leaves grow quickly with rain and die soon after it dries to conserve energy
- Shallow roots
- Live up to 60 years
Location at Albuquerque Academy
Natatorium-facing wall of 6-7 administration building
Sources and More Information
https://plants.usda.gov/home/plantProfile?symbol=FOSP2
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1zMnrsnR6tldUF6f5okwvOsRtA-pdFwfn
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=FOSP2
