
As the road ascends the hill, notice the conspicuous desert plant growing along the hillsides. One of the most common questions answered by park rangers at Big Bend is, "What is the name of that plant with tall, thin, vertical branches that we see everywhere in the park?". This plant is called an ocotillo (pronounced o-ko-tee-yo), and it has developed an unusual mechanism to conserve water in this dry environment. Most of the year this unique plant appears to be nothing more than a cluster of gray thorny stalks that many people mistake for a cactus. With adequate rain, ocotillo will produce numerous bright green leaves that allow for a "spurt" of growth. When the soil dries, the leaves drop off to conserve moisture. Although the plant appears dormant, it can still photosynthesize through the green stripes on its bark.
Is there something we missed for this itinerary?
Itineraries across USA

Acadia

Arches National Park

Badlands

Big Bend

Biscayne

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison

Bryce Canyon

Canyonlands

Capitol Reef

Carlsbad Caverns

Channel Islands

Congaree

Crater Lake

Cuyahoga Valley

Death Valley

Dry Tortugas

Everglades

Gateway Arch

Glacier

Grand Canyon

Grand Teton

Great Basin

Great Smoky Mountains

Guadalupe Mountains

Haleakalā

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes

Hot Springs

Indiana Dunes

Isle Royale

Joshua Tree

Kenai Fjords

Kobuk Valley

Lassen Volcanic

Mammoth Cave

Mesa Verde

Mount Rainier

North Cascades

Olympic

Petrified Forest

Pinnacles

Rocky Mountain

Saguaro

Shenandoah

Theodore Roosevelt

Virgin Islands

Voyageurs

White Sands

Wind Cave

Yellowstone

Yosemite

Zion