Illustration of ocotillo
ocotillo
noun
oco·ti·llo ˌō-kə-ˈtē-(ˌ)yō 
plural ocotillos
: a thorny scarlet-flowered candlewood (Fouquieria splendens of the family Fouquieriaceae) of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The mountainous desert region is one highlighted by cactus flowers like the Strawberry Pitaya, the spiny ocotillo shrub, catclaw, desert marigolds, and the area’s namesake bluebonnets. 
J.d. Simkins, Sunset Magazine, 26 Apr. 2022 An easy half-mile walk on the wide, sandy Latigo Trail enters the preserve’s far west edge, passing under powerlines that curiously mimic look the long, slender stalks of native ocotillo cactus. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2022 Those findings align with the work of Jim Cornett, a consulting ecologist who has been studying ocotillo in the park since 2007. San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2022 According to Texas Highways, visitors may also want to head approximately five hours north to pay a visit to Franklin Mountains State Park, home to the ocotillo, yucca, Southwestern barrel cactus, and Chihuahuan fishhook cactus. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2022 It’s not uncommon for students at the Bisbee Unified School District to live in Mexico and travel here daily through ports in sprawling valleys dotted by ocotillo. Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2020 There's also the hip year-old hotel Willow House, a cluster of minimalist cubes scattered in a field of ocotillo plants. Christopher Bagley, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 May 2020 Many of us are finding comfort now in remembering the enveloping smell of warm pine on a sunny day or the sight of ocotillo in bloom after a desert rain. Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2020 Massive chain fruit cholla, ocotillo and (of course) saguaros grow profusely on the sunny desert plains. Mare Czinar, azcentral, 15 Jan. 2020 See More
J.d. Simkins, Sunset Magazine, 26 Apr. 2022 An easy half-mile walk on the wide, sandy Latigo Trail enters the preserve’s far west edge, passing under powerlines that curiously mimic look the long, slender stalks of native ocotillo cactus. Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 25 Mar. 2022 Those findings align with the work of Jim Cornett, a consulting ecologist who has been studying ocotillo in the park since 2007. San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Mar. 2022 According to Texas Highways, visitors may also want to head approximately five hours north to pay a visit to Franklin Mountains State Park, home to the ocotillo, yucca, Southwestern barrel cactus, and Chihuahuan fishhook cactus. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 5 Mar. 2022 It’s not uncommon for students at the Bisbee Unified School District to live in Mexico and travel here daily through ports in sprawling valleys dotted by ocotillo. Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2020 There's also the hip year-old hotel Willow House, a cluster of minimalist cubes scattered in a field of ocotillo plants. Christopher Bagley, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 May 2020 Many of us are finding comfort now in remembering the enveloping smell of warm pine on a sunny day or the sight of ocotillo in bloom after a desert rain. Lorraine Berry, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2020 Massive chain fruit cholla, ocotillo and (of course) saguaros grow profusely on the sunny desert plains. Mare Czinar, azcentral, 15 Jan. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Mexican Spanish, diminutive of ocote, a resinous pine tree (Pinus montezuma), from Nahuatl ocotl pine, torch made of pine
First Known Use
1856, in the meaning defined above