Ocotillo Bloom

I walked out front yesterday, just in time to see a hummingbird lunching on nectar from our Ocotillo. Our Ocotillo has reached enough maturity now that it produces more and more blooms each Spring. I knew I would need my longer lens on my camera to capture this hummer, so I went inside just long enough to switch out the lens and , of course, when I returned the hummer was gone. But, he was there before, honest! Anyway, here is one of the more opened blooms. This bloom will likely last for about a month, they hold up very well. Once the summer heat hits, though, all of these leaves will be gone and only the thorny branches will remain.

I believe that Ocotillos are part of the Euphorbia family of plants, meaning that it produces true leaves in addition to the thorns of a cactus. I found out that all cactus are euphoribas, but not all euphorbias are cactus. Hmmmm.