Tag: ocotillo

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), at the Millville Townsite, Cochise County, Arizona.

Ocotillo is a drought deciduous plant, meaning it will lose its leaves any time of year if there are prolonged dry spells, to conserve water in its woody branches. But it also responds to the changes in day length and cooling temperatures in fall, and can put on a colorful show before losing its leaves. 

Fireworks.

An explosion of late-season ocotillo blossoms (Fouquieria splendens), at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. Ocotillo is usually a spring bloomer, but the plants are drought deciduous, and sometimes they will re-bloom in late summer after monsoon rains. The spring flowers typically occur in a more compact inflorescence.

Etymology note: Ocotillo is a Spanish diminutive derived from the Nahuatl loan word ocotl, meaning torch, hence little torch.

Fireworks.

An explosion of late-season ocotillo blossoms (Fouquieria splendens), at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, Arizona. Ocotillo is usually a spring bloomer, but the plants are drought deciduous, and sometimes they will re-bloom in late summer after monsoon rains. The spring flowers typically occur in a more compact inflorescence.

Etymology note: Ocotillo is a Spanish diminutive derived from the Nahuatl loan word ocotl, meaning torch, hence little torch.

House finch (Haemorhous mexicanus

♂) on budding ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). 

As it’s specific name suggests, the house finch is a western species. It is now endemic in the east, though all eastern house finches are descended from birds released on Long Island, New York in 1940. 

The color of male birds is dependent on diet. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds website notes:

“The red of a male house finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt (birds can’t make bright red or yellow colors directly). So the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. This is why people sometimes see orange or yellowish male house finches. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find, perhaps raising the chances they get a capable mate who can do his part in feeding the nestlings.”

House finch (Haemorhous mexicanus

♂) on budding ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens). 

As it’s specific name suggests, the house finch is a western species. It is now endemic in the east, though all eastern house finches are descended from birds released on Long Island, New York in 1940. 

The color of male birds is dependent on diet. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology All About Birds website notes:

“The red of a male house finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt (birds can’t make bright red or yellow colors directly). So the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. This is why people sometimes see orange or yellowish male house finches. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find, perhaps raising the chances they get a capable mate who can do his part in feeding the nestlings.”