ocotillo

[oh-kuh-teel-yoh, aw-kaw-tee-yaw]

noun

plural

ocotillos 

1. a spiny, woody shrub, Fouqueria splendens, of arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having a tight cluster of red flowers at the tip of each branch.

ocotillo

/ ˌəʊkəˈtiːljəʊ /

noun

1. a cactus-like tree, Fouquieria splendens, of Mexico and the southwestern US, with scarlet tubular flowers: used for hedges and candlewood: family Fouquieriaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of ocotillo¹

1855–60, < Mexican Spanish, diminutive of ocote kind of pine < Nahuatl ocotl

Word History and Origins

Origin of ocotillo¹

Mexican Spanish: diminutive of ocote pine, from Nahuatl ocotl torch

Example Sentences

As Tortez contemplates Chuckwalla’s richness, another member of the hiking group, Stephanie Dashiell, an environmental consultant who is manager of the national monument campaign, spots a thorny ocotillo growing high on a cliff.

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It is high desert; ocotillos, scrubby junipers and sagebrush bushes dot the earth between the pinyon pines that give her unincorporated community its name.

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“The ocotillos weren’t in leaf, and one more had died. There was another drought year here.”

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Lupines, ocotillos and yellow brickellbush have carpeted the desert floor near Joshua Tree National Park.

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Many desert plants, like ocotillos, Washington fan palms and Joshua trees, are also declining from warming temperatures, less precipitation and thirstier animals.

Read more on Salon