| Common Name |
Ocotillo, Candlewood |
| Latin Name |
Fouquieria splendens |
| Family |
Fouquieriaceae |
| Sunset zones / USDA zones |
10-13, 18-20 / 8-10 |
| Type / Form |
Shrub / Medium to large |
| Native Habitat (Origin) |
Rocky slopes below 5,000 feet in Mojave, Sonoran,
Chihuahuan, and Colorado Deserts |
| Soil |
Dry, decomposed granite, sand, limestone, low organic
content, well drained |
| Exposure |
Full sun |
| Water |
None to once per month in summer |
| Height X Width |
Maximum 25 X 15 feet, 12 feet X 8 feet |
| Protective Mechanism |
Spines |
| Leaves |
Green leaves for short time after rains, red-orange
flowers on fall, stem evergreen |
| Flowers |
Red to orange flowers after rain, very
attractive, tubular 1-inch flowers occur in long (10 inches), narrow
clusters at the ends of the stems. |
| Bark / Roots |
Scaly,
gray, brown, with time becoming reddish and papery.
Canes with no side shoots (wand-like), each is heavily armed with
numerous spines. / Roots shallow. |
| Maintenance |
None |
| Propagation |
Seeds |
| Pests and Diseases |
None |
| Landscape uses |
Rock garden, barrier, low maintenance, parkways,
specimen |
| Garden Suitability |
Hummingbird, Songbird, Sonoran, Butterfly,
Ethnobotanical |
| Nature Value |
Flowers used by butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees,
nesting for songbirds, living fences, eaten by bighorn sheep |
| Native American Uses |
Lath for adobe, medicinal bark |
| Links |
|
| Article |
http://www.desertusa.com/nov96/du_ocotillo.html |
| Images |
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/fosp2.htm |
| Data |
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/fouspl/all.html |
| Images and data |
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Fouquieriaceae/Fouquieria_splendens.html |
| Images and data |
http://www.succulent-plant.com/fouquieria.html |
| Images and data |
http://cals.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Fouquieria_splendens.html |
| Images and data |
http://medplant.nmsu.edu/ocotillo.html |
| Images and data |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fouquieria_splendens |
| Images and data |
http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4359,4360,0,4361 |
| Images and data |
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57648/ |
| Images and data |
http://www.succulent-plant.com/families/fouquieriaceae.html |
| Images and data |
http://www.wnmu.edu/academic/nspages2/gilaflora/fouquieria_splendens.html |
| Images and data |
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=fosp2 |
| Images and data |
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=3605 |
| Images and data |
http://www.delange.org/Ocotillo/Ocotillo.htm |
| Images and data |
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/DENDROLOGY/syllabus2/factsheet.cfm?ID=509 |
| Images and data |
http://www.fireflyforest.com/flowers/1109/fouquieria-splendens-ocotillo/ |
| Images and data |
http://www.nazflora.org/Fouquieria_splendens.htm |
| Images and data |
http://www.desertmuseumdigitallibrary.org/public/detail.php?id=ASDM14301&sp=Fouquieria%20splendens |
| Images, data, and
distribution |
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=FOSP2 |
| Nursery, images, and data |
http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/fouquieria-splendens |
| Nursery |
Oak Hills Nursery, 13874 Ranchero Road, Oak Hills, 92345,
760-947-6261 |
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