The ocotillo (buggy whip, coach whip) is an odd desert plant that looks like a clump of dead sticks poking ten or twenty feet into the sky. The flowers often appear on the tips of these sticks before any leaves are present. It is only after a decent rain that the small, oval-shaped leaves make their appearance. The blossoms are a striking red-orange color, and from a distance resemble burning embers.
Ocotillos grow in rocky soil to an elevation of about 5,000 feet. These ocotillos adorn the slopes of "A" Mountain just off the trail that circumnavigates the peak. In the cities, where ocotillos also grow, they serve the purpose of catching plastic bags that carefree shoppers have released into the desert wind.
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