Ocotillo

OCOTILLO - Fouquieria sp. Candlewood, Coach Whip, Palo Adán. This plant is used for fence posts because of lack of wood. The branches will continue to grow in the fence and put out leaves, making the fence a living fence.

F. diguetii (F. peninsularis, Bronnia digueti, thiebauti): Adam's Tree, Palo Adán. This plant has red flowers. Make tea from it, or eat the stems raw. The bark decoction is used as a wash for cuts. The branches are used to build living fences and corrals.

F. macdougalii (F. jaboncillo): Cunari, Torote Spinosa, Torote Verde. Warihio: Chunuli. The bark is used as soap for washing clothes. The wood is used to make fence posts.

F. spinosa: Ochotilla. The flower is edible in salads.

F. splendens. Albarda, Barda, Candle Flower, Candlewood, Coach Whip, Coachwhip, Coachwhip Cactus, Flaming Sword, Flaming Torch, Jacob's Staff, Joseph's Staff, Ochotilla, Ocote, Ocotilla, Slimwood, Vine Cactus, Wolf's Candles. Spanish: Ocotillo: Little Torch, from the Aztec, Ocotl. Akimel: Moelhok. Takic: Otos, Utush. A punch can be made by filling a jar with ocotillo blossoms and water and leaving in the refrigerator no more than 18 hours. It should be drunk immediately. The fruit capsules are edible. The flowers are edible raw, but taste slightly bitter. The nectar can be sucked from them. The seeds are tasty, and contain 29% protein, and 19% fat. A poultice of powdered root will relieve painful swellings. Add powdered root or bark to a bath for fatigue. The bark powder is used for painful swellings. Drink half a cup of the inner bark tea, three times a day, as a strong lymphatic cleanser for swollen glands. It stimulates lymph circulation. Boil a two inch piece of the stem in water for half an hour, remove from heat, add whiskey, and steep covered until it is room temperature. Sip this periodically for tonsillitis, benign tumors, cysts, and bladder infections. The stem and blossom tea is good for sore throats and cough. Do not use if you suspect you might be pregnant, or in early pregnancy. Mix this plant with chaparral for swollen lymph glands. The branches may be cut and assembled into fences and small buildings. These root easily, and put out leaves seasonally, resulting in a living house! Because of the thorns, the plant is often used to make coyote-proof structures. They can be used to surround a garden to keep rodents out. The branches are used for walking sticks, and they are put into adobe bricks to strengthen them. This is an ornamental. The plant is used for washing clothes. A leather dressing can be made from bark wax. The branches may also be used to make a torch or as firewood. This is a honey plant. Hummingbirds like the flowers.