''Fouquieria shrevei'' is a plant species native to the States of

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

and

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

states of northeastern Mexico. It is simply referred to as an ocotillo. It is endemic to some scattered gypsum outcroppings in the

Bolsón de Mapimí The Bolsón de Mapimí is an endorheic, or internal drainage, basin in which no rivers or streams drain to the sea, but rather toward the center of the basin, often terminating in swamps and ephemeral lakes. It is located in the center-north of t ...

, where the low rainfall, hot climate and gypseous soil work to create a restrictive environment. It has flowers with short, white corollas that distinguish it from the nearby ''

Fouquieria splendens ''Fouquieria splendens'', commonly known as ocotillo, is a plant indigenous to the Mojave Desert, Mojave, Sonoran Desert, Sonoran, Chihuahuan Desert, Chihuahuan and Colorado Desert, Colorado deserts in the Southwestern United States (southern C ...

''.

Description

''Fouquieria shrevei'' is a shrub up to tall, branching repeatedly near the base but hardly at all above. Leaves are ovate to oblanceolate, up to long and wide, with scarious (thin, dry and brown) margins. Flowers are white, born in short

racemes A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoo ...

in the

axils A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

of the leaves. The board leaves plus the

axillary Axillary means "related to the axilla (armpit)" or "related to the leaf axils". "Axillary" may refer to: Biology * Axillary artery * Axillary border * Axillary fascia * Axillary feathers * Axillary hairs * Axillary lines * Axillary lymph nodes ...

of white flowers make this a distinctive and unusual member of the genus.

Etymology

Because this species occurs

sympatric In biology, two closely related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter each other. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct spe ...

with ''

'', the plant is not distinguished and is simply referred to as an "ocotillo" by the local people. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is named after

Forrest Shreve Forrest Shreve (July 8, 1878 – July 19, 1950) was an internationally known American botanist. His professional career was devoted to the study of the distribution of vegetation as determined by soil and climate conditions. His contributions to t ...

, a desert ecologist who accompanied I. M. Johnston when he discovered the species.

Distribution and habitat

It can be found in the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin in

, approximately 50 km (about 31 miles) west of

Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...

, at an elevation of about . There are several natural springs in the region, allowing an estimated 150 species of

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

plants and animals to survive in this desert

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

.Encyclopedia of Life
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References

photo of herbarium specimen, collected in Coahuila in 2005
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16982102 shrevei Endemic flora of Mexico Flora of Coahuila Flora of Durango Cuatrociénegas Municipality