Nature Walk, 0.2 mi loop
9 ft elevation gain
Hiked 3/27/24
Located in the transition zone between the Colorado and Mojave deserts, this small patch of land grows a large quantity of Teddy Bear Cholla, leading to the creation of this garden patch. You'll also find Beavertail Cactus as well as a few Ocotillo, all with a stunning backdrop of desert mountains.
A section of a Teddy Bear Cholla, with fruiting pods growing on it. Bearing little to no seeds in the fruiting bodies, the main method of reproduction is instead via breaking off and rooting of the stems.
A close up of a flowering Beavertail Cactus, with its bright pink flowers surrounded by unopened buds.
An Ocotillo plant with its long, spindly arms covered in small green leaves.
From a nearby sign:
Don’t confuse this unusual-looking plant, ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), for a cactus. The thorny, multi-stem shrub is in fact a woody deciduous plant. Unlike other deciduous shrubs, which normally grow leaves in the spring and drop them in the fall, the ocotillo may grow and drop leaves as often as five times during the year. The leaves aren’t season dependant but rain dependent.
Following a sufficient rain, the Ocotillo puts forth a cluster of leaves above each thorn, adorning the otherwise dead-looking canes with a flourish of green. At the same time red blossoms may appear at the tips of the canes. The leaves go about the business of photosynthesis—converting light energy to food energy—until the next drought; then the leaves turn red or brown and drop.
It really is crazy how stark of a contrast it becomes after rains. Everything just springs to life from apparent desolation.