I mentioned ocotillo the other day so here are a couple of shots of them. Normally in the desert they get less water and probably no fertilizer so the domesticated ones are more luxurious and taller than average but if you can image a whole 'forest' of them in bloom...I can attest they are spectacular. Long ago between Bisbee and Douglas AZ I saw just that when out on an expedition with my late hubby and a friend. They were gorgeous!
I also saw a neat little cactus; these remind me of the 'pincushion' in Arizona but are a little different. I will have to do some research to find the name to share but did want to show the picture. This one has a weed growing around it but each flower sits on a kind of thumb shaped arm about 3-4" high and maybe 1-1.5" in diameter, very covered with wee thorns, sharp as tiny needles. In the close up of the ocotillo you can see those thorns which are larger but very sharp and tough to ride through on horseback. You want to be wearing nice heavy leather chaps! The Mexican vaqueros even made leather 'aprons' to protect their horses' chests and necks from them!Then the next picture is an Ephedra or "Mormon Tea" bush just starting to bloom. This one is in my yard--no thorns--and will soon be covered with bright yellow flowers. Finally the mesquite--they hardly look like flowers but they are; those fuzzy yellow "caterpillars" will later turn into the long slender seed (bean) pods which many animals use for forage and the desert Native Americans used for food. They have very high protein and taste odd but not bad.
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