About Fouquieria diguetii (Tiegh.) I.M.Johnst.
Fouquieria diguetii (Tiegh.) I.M.Johnst. is a deciduous shrub that grows from a short, thick trunk, with spines covering all its branches. Mature plants typically reach 1.8 to 3 meters in height, though considerable variation in growth habit occurs across the species' range. Mature plants growing in the Sonoran Desert usually only reach 1 to 3 meters tall at maturity, while mature plants in southern tropical regions of the range commonly grow taller than 4 meters. Its leaves are dark green, elliptic, and can grow up to 2 centimeters long. It produces bright red, long, tubular flowers arranged in inflorescences, whose length also varies widely across the species' range. Inflorescence length depends on the moisture available when the inflorescence develops. In arid parts of the range, inflorescences average 5.1 centimeters long, while in tropical parts of the range they average 11.5 centimeters long. Inflorescences produced during the dry season are also much shorter than those produced in wet seasons. These bright red flowers attract hummingbirds, which are the primary pollinators for this species. This plant is distributed from the area around El Crucero in southern Baja California south to the cape of Baja California Sur, and also grows on surrounding islands in the Gulf of California, as well as Santa Margarita Island and Magdalena Island along the Pacific coast. It can also be found on sections of the Gulf of California-facing coast of Sonora and Sinaloa. The species is common across its entire native range. On Montserrat Island in the Gulf of California, it grows on marine terraces and escarpments.
