Fouquieria splendens
Engelm. · speciesAt a glance
Sources12 archives
Databases and archives Fouquieria splendens's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation8 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility29 497 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI8 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics12 specimens↗
LOTUSNatural Products (Wikidata)compounds↗
GRIN TaxonomyUSDA-ARSdistribution & uses↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
CCDBChromosome Counts DB · Tel Aviv U.genome & karyotype↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
PloiDBPloidy Databasegenome & karyotype
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
Fouquieria splendens (commonly known as ocotillo (), but also referred to as coachwhip, candlewood, slimwood, desert coral, Jacob's staff, Jacob cactus, and vine cactus) is a plant indigenous to the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert and Colorado Desert in the Southwestern United States (southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas), and northern Mexico (as far south as Hidalgo and Guerrero).Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution mapMcVaugh, R. 2001. Ochnaceae to Loasaceae. 3: 9–751. In R. McVaugh (ed.) Flora Novo-Galiciana. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor While semi-succulent and a desert plant, Ocotillo is more closely related to tea and blueberries than to cactuses. For much of the year, the plant appears to be an arrangement of large spiny dead sticks, although closer examination reveals that the stems are partly green. With rainfall, the plant quickly becomes lush with small (2–4 cm), ovate leaves, which may remain for weeks or even months. Individual stems may reach a diameter of 5 cm at the base, and the plant may grow to a height of 10 m (33 ft). The plant branches very heavily at its base, but above that, the branches are pole-like and rarely divide further. Specimens in cultivation may not exhibit any secondary branches. The leaf stalks harden into blunt spines, and new leaves sprout from the base of the spine. The bright crimson flowers appear especially after rainfall in spring, summer, and occasionally fall. Flowers are clustered indeterminately at the tips of each mature stem. Individual flowers are mildly zygomorphic and are pollinated by hummingbirds and native carpenter bees.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Size & morphology7
Life cycle & reproduction24
Diet & foraging1
Habitat & environment24
Physiology & chemistry23
Uses & economy15
Other traits7
Compounds documented for Fouquieria splendens across natural-product and food-composition databases — not just the ~150 nutrients on a classic label ("nutritional dark matter").
Compound class profile4 classes
Documented compounds16 total
| Compound | Class | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-Eicosene | present | LOTUS | |
| 3,3'-di-O-methylquercetin | present | LOTUS | |
| 3-O-Methylkaempferol | present | LOTUS | |
| Acacetin | present | LOTUS | |
| Adoxoside | present | LOTUS | |
| Apigenin | present | LOTUS | |
| Asperuloside | present | LOTUS | |
| Chrysoeriol | present | LOTUS | |
| Ermanin | present | LOTUS | |
| Galioside | present | LOTUS |
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Fouquieria splendens has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Fouquieria splendens carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
2n 245×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database · CCDB · ipcn-api-dl · CCDB · kew
2n 161×CCDB · book-fedorov
n 123×CCDB · book-ipcn65 · CCDB · book-ipcn67-71 · CCDB · book-ipcn73-74
tetraploid1×GoaT · Kew Plant DNA C-values Database
polyploid inferred1×PloiDB · genus-scale
How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.
At a glance
When this lineage existed
How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.
Record type29 497 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions65 of 89 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| ASUlocation not on record | 148 |
| Claremont, US | 97 |
| Phoenix, US | 90 |
| Austin, US | 58 |
| EL PASO, US | 36 |
| Bronx, US | 35 |
| Flagstaff, US | 35 |
| Riverside, US | 28 |
| Durango, MX | 26 |
| Albuquerque, US | 25 |
| Juriquilla, MX | 21 |
| Mexico City, MX | 18 |
| Ensenada, MX | 13 |
| Chicago, US | 13 |
| Los Angeles, US | 12 |
| US | 12 |
| Hermosillo, MX | 11 |
| Tlalnepantla, MX | 10 |
| Austin, US | 10 |
| Long Beach, US | 9 |
| Lubbock, US | 9 |
| University of Stellenboschlocation not on record | 8 |
| Santa Barbara, US | 8 |
| Wuzhou, CN | 8 |
| Arcata, US | 7 |
| San Angelo, US | 7 |
| Saint Louis, US | 7 |
| Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology & Paleobotanylocation not on record | 6 |
| Zacatecas, MX | 6 |
| San Diego, US | 6 |
| BAYLUlocation not on record | 5 |
| Emporia, US | 5 |
| La Paz, MX | 5 |
| Chapingo, MX | 5 |
| Kew, GB | 4 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 4 |
| DOI/NPS, Little Rock Central High School National Historic Sitelocation not on record | 4 |
| Northridge, US | 4 |
| San Bernardino, US | 4 |
| Tempe, US | 4 |
| Irvine, US | 4 |
| DOI/NPS, Colonial National Historical Parklocation not on record | 3 |
| Bangkok, TH | 3 |
| Boise, US | 3 |
| CASlocation not on record | 3 |
| Logan, US | 3 |
| Henderson, US | 3 |
| Canadian Department of Agriculturelocation not on record | 3 |
| Angwin, US | 3 |
| Bloomington, US | 3 |
| Arizona State University Biocollectionslocation not on record | 3 |
| Mexico City, MX | 2 |
| Clemson, US | 2 |
| Uppsala, SE | 2 |
| Mexico City, MX | 2 |
| San Jose State University, Museum of Birds and Mammalslocation not on record | 2 |
| Arizona Western Collegelocation not on record | 2 |
| San Luis Obispo, US | 2 |
| The University of Arizonalocation not on record | 2 |
| Orem, US | 2 |
| US | 2 |
| MEXUlocation not on record | 2 |
| Fort Worth, US | 2 |
| Denver, US | 2 |
| USFSlocation not on record | 2 |
| Tampa, US | 2 |
| Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgolocation not on record | 2 |
| Guasave, MX | 2 |
| BOISlocation not on record | 2 |
| Pullman, US | 1 |
| Giardini Botanici Hanburylocation not on record | 1 |
| LDlocation not on record | 1 |
| Chongqing Museumlocation not on record | 1 |
| Walla Walla, US | 1 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| Madison, US | 1 |
| Cambridge, US | 1 |
| Burlington, US | 1 |
| Brookings, US | 1 |
| Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 1 |
| AUAlocation not on record | 1 |
| Moscow, US | 1 |
| Linares, MX | 1 |
| Chadron, US | 1 |
| Waverly, US | 1 |
| Davis, US | 1 |
| New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Sciencelocation not on record | 1 |
| Dekalb, US | 1 |
| Mexico City, MX | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Fouquieria splendens was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.