VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Fouquieria splendens | Ocotillo 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Habitats dominated or codominated by ocotillo are important to mule and
white-tailed deer in the San Cayetano Mountains in south-central
Arizona.  White-tailed deer prefer communities which include ocotillo
fom February to April.  Honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var.
glandulosa)-ocotillo habitat types are indicative of mule deer habitat;
79 percent of observed deer were found in these types during May, June,
and July [2,59].  White-tailed deer had a higher volume of ocotillo in
their diet in drought years than in nondrought years, whereas mule deer
had a higher volume of ocotillo in their diet in nondrought years [1].
Actual ocotillo use by deer in Arizona and New Mexico is considered low
(1-5% of rumen contents) [54].

Ocotillo is eaten by desert bighorn sheep in the Harquahala Mountains in
Arizona [53].

Ocotillo has no forage value for livestock [26], although cattle and
goats have been observed browsing it on floodplains along the Rio Grande
[14].

Birds of the Organ Pipe National Monument utilize ocotillo for foraging [46].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Nutrient values (in percent) of ocotillo in samples collected from the
Harquahala Mountains, Arizona in 1982 follow [53]:

                                         Fiber*
             Dry matter    Protein    ADF    NDF    Lignin    Cellulose 
__________________________________________________________________________
Jan-Feb        27.46        20.50    14.22  12.42     2.60       7.33
Mar-April      13.10        17.20    10.79  22.83     3.40       7.78
May-June       35.33        12.69    11.15  15.90     3.08       8.24
July-Aug       39.24        17.35    13.09  17.68     3.12       9.78
Sep-Oct        30.00         5.91    13.35  15.18     3.21       9.45

*ADF--acid detergent fiber; NDF--nonacid detergent fiber


COVER VALUE : 
When in leaf, ocotillo probably provides cover for birds and small
mammals.


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
In the Southwest, ocotillo stems are cut and planted close together to
make living fences or walls.  Ocotillo makes an excellent ornamental in
desert landscaping theme and cactus gardens [22,49,60,69].  The resin
and wax from ocotillo bark is used for conditioning leather [34,49,69].
Historically, ocotillo fruits and flowers were eaten by Cahuilla
Indians.  Roots were powdered by Apache Indians and used to treat wounds
and painful swellings.  They also bathed in an ocotillo root mixture to
relieve fatigue [34,49,69].  A beverage made from ocotillo flowers was
used for cough medicine [69].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Ocotillo increased under protection from livestock grazing (0.5 to 2.4%
frequency) over a 50-year period at the Carnegie Desert Laboratory in
southern Arizona.  The vegetation was dominated by Sonoran Desert
species such as ocotillo, creosotebush, foothill paloverde (Cercidium
microphyllum), and saguaro [4].

Ocotillo produces tannins which may help in its defense against
herbivory [75].

The endangered Lucifer hummingbird's habitat in New Mexico centers on
slopes and adjacent canyons in arid montane areas dominated by ocotillo
and agave species [44].

Ocotillo competes for space with jumping cholla (Opuntia fulgida) in
Arizona upland vegetation associations.  Its root system may also
overlap with that of saguaro, suggesting competition for root space
between the two [76].

Removal of grasses by grazing may allow shrubs, including ocotillo, to
increase in low desert grasslands [79].
        

Related categories for Species: Fouquieria splendens | Ocotillo