ocotillo

o·co·til·lo

O0025300 (ō′kə-tē′yō)n. pl. o·co·til·los A shrub (Fouquieria splendens) of Mexico and the southwest United States, having long spiny stems and clusters of scarlet tubular flowers.

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[American Spanish, diminutive of ocote, a Mexican pine, from Nahuatl ocotl, pitch pine.]

ocotillo

(ˌəʊkəˈtiːljəʊ) n, pl -los (Plants) a cactus-like tree, Fouquieria splendens, of Mexico and the southwestern US, with scarlet tubular flowers: used for hedges and candlewood: family Fouquieriaceae[Mexican Spanish: diminutive of ocote pine, from Nahuatl ocotl torch]

o•co•til•lo

(ˌoʊ kəˈtil yoʊ)

n., pl. -los. a spiny desert candlewood shrub, Fouquieria splendens, of the family Fouquieriaceae, of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having a tight cluster of red flowers at the tip of each branch. [1855–60, Amer.; < Mexican Spanish, diminutive of ocote kind of pine]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

ocotillo - desert shrub of southwestern United States and Mexico having slender naked spiny branches that after the rainy season put forth foliage and clusters of red flowerscoachwhip, Fouquieria splendens, Jacob's staff, vine cactuscandlewood - any of several resinous trees or shrubs often burned for lightFouquieria, genus Fouquieria - resinous succulent trees or shrubs of desert and semidesert regions of southwestern United States that are leafless most of the year