Friday, March 30. 2007
It's an Ocotillo
It's not a cactus, so they say in Colorado.
Now we know. And don't tell me you never learned nothing about cactus on this cactus blog that features whippets and political quotes alongside recipes for tequila drinks, although in this case we actually only learned about non-cactus today. But a fine non-cactus it is.
You could have fooled me. I always thought that the ocotillo growing in the Sonoran Desert and throughout Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument was itself a species of cactus. Cacti, however, have regularly spaced areoles, small pits or cavities from which spines and branches usually originate.
Despite its own thorny spines, the ocotillo (pronounced oh-koh-TEE-yo) is actually a kind of candlewood, a resinous tree or shrub.
Unlike cactus and other succulents that have adapted to desert environments by conserving moisture within their fleshy tissue, the ocotillo produces leaves during rainy spells, then drops its leaves during periods of drought.
Despite its own thorny spines, the ocotillo (pronounced oh-koh-TEE-yo) is actually a kind of candlewood, a resinous tree or shrub.
Unlike cactus and other succulents that have adapted to desert environments by conserving moisture within their fleshy tissue, the ocotillo produces leaves during rainy spells, then drops its leaves during periods of drought.
Now we know. And don't tell me you never learned nothing about cactus on this cactus blog that features whippets and political quotes alongside recipes for tequila drinks, although in this case we actually only learned about non-cactus today. But a fine non-cactus it is.
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