Sunday, August 23, 2009

Cactus Monday: Ocotillo and Beavertail Cactus

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Ocotillo, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego County, CA
Ocotillo ( pronounced as oh-ko-tee-oh) is a unique desert plant of the Southwest and Northern Mexico. It is also known as coachwhip andvine cactus, but though it may often be referred in print as a cactus because of its other common name, it is actually really not a member of cactus family.
Dwarfed By Ocotillo
Ocotillo is a woody shrub which is usually 5 cm at the base and may grow to a height of 10 meters. 
A Woody Shrub
Notice that ocotillo branches heavily at the base, but above that, ocotillo seldom branches out further. The branches are pole like and the bright red flowers appear during spring and summer. 
Ocotillo Bright Red Flower
 The flowers of ocotillo are pollinated by hummingbirds and/or carpenter bees. Ocotillo loses its leaves in dry periods, and actually at other times of the year may simply look brown. However, just within 48 hours after a rain, the leaves re-appear! 
Towering Ocotillos
Ocotillo, Survivors of Heat and Drought
Ocotillos survive extreme heat and drought in the desert by losing its leaves so that it conserves moisture. Its stems are covered with a thick water resistant cuticle.
Ocotillo in Badlands
Ocotillo Surviving the Badlands
( you can click on the image to enlarge and see the ocotillo, which I encircled )
The presence of ocotillo in badlands suggest how much they can survive an area with extreme drought that other plants, even cactus, are not even seen in the badlands. 
Barrel Cactus, Brittlebush and Ocotillo
However, since this post is my entry for Cactus Monday, and ocotillo is not really a cactus despite being commonly referred to as a cactus, perhaps being seen only in the desert, I am adding here pictures of beavertail cactus blooms.
Beavertail Cactus in Bloom
Beavertail cactus has blooms of varying colors, the two most common I saw are yellow and magenta. 
The blooms usually are observed from March to June. Beveartail cactus is a smaller prickly pear cactus, you can find out more about prickly cactus and the busy bees in my June 17 post here. 
I will be leaving you with an interesting rock formation at Joshua Tree National Park, 
Skull Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, CA
Just as interesting as the plants in the desert, so are the rocks which are weathered into various shapes in the forms.
For more of cactus Monday, please visit Teri's Painted Daisies.
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31 comments:

  1. Have never heard of ocotillo! Wow! It must be a real survivor to survive in badlands!

    Interesting looking skull rock!

    So you talk about cactus every Monday? Won't you run out of cactus to blog about? : )

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  2. beyh, ang ganda ng pink cactus! my first time to see one! fantastic!

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  3. What an amazing plant, and I love skull rock, that is too cool.

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  4. Wow..the ocotillo is an amazing plant, and beautiful flowers from the beavertail cactus..

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  5. Wow, what a view! and the cactus flowers are amazing. Happy CM!

    -Cathy

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  6. Instead of looking at ocotillo, I was fascinated by the layers of contour at the back.

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  7. What an awesome post! I have several ocotillos in my yard. The two biggest fell out of the ground last year during a monsoon storm- I was so sad but I have 4 smaller ones left. Your pictures are amazing! HCM

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  8. i so love your new signature, Betchai's Images! i must create one for mine, haha! any good idea? I wanted to follow Icy at naunahan mo ako, hehehe!

    the first image resembles fireworks! and the rest are just amazing as always. :)

    oh no, i miss blogging!!! huhuhu! too busy to sit in front of the pc for long. :( i'll be back soon! i must! i'm missing a lot...

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  9. I lvoe he Ocotillo tree also. It is such a common tree in Arizona and I love to see how it burst forth in bloom after a rain.

    Those blooms are so beautiful on the Beavertail and always a source of inspiration for me.

    HCM!

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  10. Wonderful pictures and explanations. I'd never think they were that tall. Great shots!

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  11. Wonderful pictures and great info!

    HCM!

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  12. Gorgeous photos. I am always amazed that the desert has such beautiful blooms from time to time. The prickly plants always comes through with little encouragement. Love the skull rock too. HCM

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  13. the shot of the badlands is simply stunning and the skull rock is remarkable =)

    busy weekend?

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  14. Wow! These are awesome. The towering ocotillo are so unique and exotic looking. I love skull rock. Now that would be a great place for an outdoor Halloween party :-)

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  15. It is amazing to see the ocotillos growing taller than most other things in their surroundings. And I love the color on those beavertails too!

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  16. That's a nice lesson for the day,Betchai,hehehe.It's my first time to encounter Ocotillo and learn much about it,even its correct pronunciation. So,it's not a cactus eh? I thought so coz it doesn't look like one.But maybe the reason why it is commonly coined as a cactus is that it has the same cacti qualities like surviving extreme heat and can thrive on dry lands.I thought when it losses its leaves,it means it's dead. Interesting to know that it's just its way of adapting to the environment so it can keep more moisture by getting rid of the leaves.Ang galing! By the way, I love the flowers of the Beavertail Cactus.

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  17. Ocotillo? Wow! It is really gorgeous. Ouh...it is not part of the cactus family! I see. These plants are hardy huh! They can withstand the harsh weather and strive! :)

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  18. I really cannot believe how big that cactus is next to you and I love the flowers, rocks, well everything!

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  19. What beautiful pictures of the desert. I just never imagined it looking so pretty. Sometimes I think nothing can be more beautiful than my own homestate, but traveling around by blog, I get to see so many other beautiful places. HCM!

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  20. Beautiful pictures! I've never been to the desert but Ive seen a lot of them at the Gardens. I would love to try this spring!

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  21. I like the Skull Rock!! Beautiful!

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  22. The flowers on desert plants are so interesting to me because I never knew before that any of these plants had them. And I love that rock!

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  23. I love the ocotillo, looks like a bouquet of flowers :)

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  24. the close up shot of the red coach whip is so rich in colour. I'm pleasantly surprised by the wonderful colour I seen in a landscape that you naturally amuse is baron.

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  25. Beautiful photos Betchai! I'm amazed how you know the names of different plants, trees and flowers...I am learning from you!

    Debbie :)

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  26. I presume they called octillo because it's look like octopus?

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  27. I love those pink flowers...nakakagigil. And that last pic which looks like half a head of a man. Great pics.

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  28. That is some colorful cactus! Love the pics, as usual...thanks.

    peace,
    mike
    livelife365

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  29. Hi Betchai! Visiting here again admiring the photos...

    Hope you have a great Friday tomorrow!


    Debbie :)

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  30. Too cool catus!! and the Skull rock, awesome.

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THANK YOU SO MUCH!!