Morning Ocotillo

Ocotillo (ack-o-tee-yo) are inverted desert plants with woody, spiny, whip-like branches. They angle out from the base of the plant.  They get pretty tall, about twenty feet.  

When they're in bloom, which is just a short period of time, during the wet period during the summer, they're kind of pretty, but most of the year, they look like plain, ugly brown sticks pointing up in the air.  And they are everywhere.

This picture captures a few of the top branches of an ocotillo with the rising sun.