![](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Ocotillo_Bloom_Cluster_Closeup.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n\nA bloom cluster of fouquieria splendens<\/i>, AKA ocotillo, taken in mid-April 2018. Ocotillo\u2019s blooms have been very aptly described as \u201cfrozen fire\u201d. (Click on images for full-size versions.)<\/center><\/p>\n
Guest WOT article, from Hondo.<\/p>\n
I have a soft spot in my heart for deserts. Many of the most enjoyable \u2013 and professionally rewarding \u2013 parts of my life were spent in desert environments.<\/p>\n
The deserts of the US Southwest are a particular favorite of mine. They\u2019re harsh \u2013 but they\u2019re also starkly beautiful. And they have some of the neatest plants and animals on earth.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spoken of one of those plants in comments here at TAH: fouquieria splendens<\/i><\/a>, AKA ocotillo. It\u2019s native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of the US Southwest and northern Mexico.<\/p>\n Most of the year, it\u2019s a largish but rather nondescript plant. For roughly 48 or 50 weeks out of the year, it\u2019s little more than a bunch of greyish-green stalks covered in huge thorns.<\/p>\n However, for 2 to 4 weeks in the spring, the plant undergoes a transformation that would make the Hans Christian Andersen\u2019s Ugly Duckling proud. It leafs out \u2013 then blooms quite spectacularly.<\/p>\n The photos here don\u2019t really do the plant justice; these specimens are probably 3 or 4 days away from peak bloom. Unfortunately, my travel schedule wouldn\u2019t allow me to stay long enough to see them at their best.<\/p>\n Dear Lord, I miss the Southwest. Maybe sometime in the future I\u2019ll be able to move back there.<\/p>\n Have a great Weekend Open Thread, all \u2013 and a great weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n