ID Characteristics
This plant is in the Fouquieriaceae - the ocotillo family.
Ocotillo can grow to 30 feet with multiple stems, though 20 feet may be more usual. Even plants a few feet high will have several stems arising from a short trunk. In the Tucson area, ocotillo are found growing on slopes, where drainage is good.
The stems are leafless in dry seasons, with vertical striping and many 1-1.5 inch spines.
Leaves appear quickly after a rain, within three days in summer. These leaves, known as secondary leaves, grow on old wood on very, very short stems just above a spine (from the buds you can see in the photo of the leafless stem, above). They are alternate with no leaf stalk (petiole) and are about 1 inch long, with no teeth or lobes along the edge.
New growth occurs at the tip of each stem. The leaves of this new wood, called primary leaves, have petioles and are up to 2 inches long. Like the secondary leaves, they are alternate and without teeth or lobes.
Gradually the petioles harden and the green portion of the leaf falls off. Each petiole becomes one of the spines along the stem. In the photo above you can see primary leaves starting to dry and becomes spines with secondary leaves appear just above them.
The bright red, tubular flowers appear in a 10 inch long cluster in spring. Leaves may or may not be present. Each inch-long flower has 5 petals, fused together to form a tube. Fruit is a capsule that is not ornamental.