Up to 15 feet tall, the ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) looks dead much of the year. But whenever the rains come every "hole" along its woody stems burst forth with small, thick, bright green leaves. When drought returns the leaves fall and dormancy returns. Whether it rains or not, the end of every ocotilla stem blooms with a long panicle of bright red flowers much loved by hummingbirds. It will bloom again, even before the leaves, when the summer rains arrive.