Carrying the drought-evasion habits of the paloverde a step further, the OCOTILLO (oh-koh-TEE-yoh) comes into full leaf following each rainy spell during the warmer months. During the intervening dry periods it sheds its foliage. The ocotillo, a common and conspicuous desert dweller, is a shrub of striking appearance, with thorny, whiplike, unbranching stems 8 to 12 feet long growing upward in a funnel-shaped cluster. In spring, showy scarlet flower clusters appear at the tips of the stems, making each plant a glowing splash of color. [Illustration: Mesquite in bloom.] A number of desert shrubs fail to display as much ingenuity as the paloverde. Some of these evade the dry season simply by going into a state of dormancy. The WOLFBERRY bursts into full leaf soon after the first winter rains and blossoms as early as January. Its small, tomato-red, juicy fruits are sought by birds, which also find protective cover for their nests and for overnight perches in the stiff, thorny shrubs. In the past, the berrylike fruits were important to the Indians, who ate them raw or made them into a sauce. [Illustration: Yellow paloverde, Tucson Mountain Section.] Commonest of the conspicuous desert non-succulent shrubs is the wispy-looking but tough CREOSOTEBUSH, found principally on poor soils and on the desert flats between mountain ranges. It is also sprinkled throughout the paloverde-saguaro community in the monument. A new crop of wax-coated, musty-smelling leaves, giving the plant the local (but mistaken) name “grease-wood,” appears as early as January. The leaves are followed by a profuse blooming of small yellow flowers and cottony seed balls. During abnormally moist summers or in damp locations, the leaves and flowers persist the year round; but usually the coming of dry weather brings an end to the blossoming period. If the dry spell is exceptionally long, the leaves turn brown, and the plants remain dormant until awakened by the next winter’s rainfall. Pima Indians formerly gathered a resinous material, known as lac, which accumulates on the bark of its branches, and used it to mend pottery and fasten arrow points. They also steeped the leaves to obtain an antiseptic medicine. Ground squirrels commonly feed on the seeds. [Illustration: Ironwood blossoms.] [Illustration: Parry’s penstemon.] A large shrub of open, sprawling growth usually found along desert washes in company with mesquite is CATCLAW. Its name refers to the small curved thorns that hide on its branches. In April and May, the small trees are covered with fragrant, pale-yellow, catkinlike flower clusters that attract swarms of insects. The seed pods were ground into meal by the Indians and eaten as mush and cakes.