Home Page
Submit Data
 Lilac/Honeysuckle
Native Plants
Ecoregion Map
Registration
Mission
Meetings and Press
Publications
Graphics
On-Line Data
Other Networks
Contact Information
|
 |
Fouquieria splendens Observations
(ocotillo)
Submit Data Observations
Introduction to the NPN Native Species Observation Program
Ocotillo is slow growing and forms open vase shaped clumps. Long slender stems rise from a common base, and are covered with 1in thorns which are gray or sometimes greenish. Plant size generally ranges from 5-25ft, but giant specimens to greater than 30ft are known. Bright green round simple leaves are in axils of thorns and in clusters. The plant is generally leafless for most of the year; in years with good rainfall leaves will persist, turning showy colors of yellow and red in the fall. On branch terminals, spiky clumps of tubular orange or red flowers appear; clusters can be up to 1ft long.
Source: Master Gardeners of the University of Arizona Pima County Cooperative Extension
You should record when five well-defined phenological events occur for ocotillo:
- Beginning of flowering, first flowers open (BF) is the date when in at least three places on the plant the first flowers have opened completely (Photo by Taly Drezner).
- Sprouting of leaves (SL) is the date when the buds begin to burst open in at least three places on the plant under observation. The first green is visible on the young spring shoots and the first scales may fall off the buds.
- Beginning of the unfolding of leaves, first leaf surfaces visible (UL) is the date when in at least three places on the plant under observation first leaves have pushed themselves completely out of the bud or leaf sheath. The leaves have unfolded completely, so that the leaf stalk or leaf base is visible (sometimes only recognizable by bending back the young leaf). At this point, the individual leaf has taken its ultimate form, but has not yet reached its final size.
- Fruit ripe (FR) is the date when in at least three places on the plant under observation, the fruit shows the coloring characteristics of the plant variety (i.e., is ripe), and can be easily removed (i.e., is ready to fall from the plant).
- Coloring of leaves (CL) is the date when approximately 50% of the leaves (including those that have fallen to the ground) have taken on the colors of autumn.
Return to Form
Please record average dates for each event among multiple plants of the same species. Report by email if any plant appears in poor health or event dates for same-species plants vary by more than a few days.
|
