Fouquieria splendens – Ocotillo

Fouquieria splendens - Ocotillo, Candlewood, Coach Whip, Coachwhip (flowers)

Fouquieria splendens - Ocotillo, Candlewood, Coach Whip, Coachwhip (flowers)

Fouquieria splendens - Ocotillo, Candlewood, Coach Whip, Coachwhip (leaves and stem)

Fouquieria splendens - Ocotillo, Candlewood, Coach Whip, Coachwhip

Plant Name

Scientific Name: Fouquieria splendens

Common Names: Ocotillo, Candlewood, Coach Whip, Coachwhip

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial, Deciduous

Growth Habit: Shrub, Unusual Shrub

Arizona Native Status: Native

Habitat: Desert. This distinctive plant is a common sight in the Sonoran Desert.

Flower Color: Red

Flowering Season: Spring, Summer (early)

Height: To 20 feet (6 m) tall

Description: The flowers are in tapering, lopsided clusters at the tips of the spiny, slender, woody canes (whip-like branches). The individual flowers are tubular, 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, and have 5 lobes. When present, the leaves are green, alternate, and oval or egg-shaped. The canes are leafless for much of the year, only leafing out after rains.

Special Characteristics

Edible – The flower buds, the sweet, nectar-filled flowers, and the seeds are edible.

Hummingbird Flower – The flowers attract hummingbirds and orioles.

Legal StatusProtected Native Plant (Salvage Restricted)

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: Fouquieria Kunth – ocotillo
Species: Fouquieria splendens Engelm. – ocotillo

More About This Plant

Arizona County Distribution Map