Final answer:
Desert plants like the ocotillo have adapted to their environment by having small or no leaves to minimize water loss, with leaves that appear only after rainfall and shed afterwards. These adaptations are essential for their survival in desert climates.
Step-by-step explanation:
A supporting detail about flowers in the desert, such as the ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), is their adaptive strategies to survive in a harsh environment. To reduce water loss, many desert plants, including the ocotillo, have small leaves or no leaves at all. These leaves appear only after rainfall and are then shed. This adaptation is crucial for survival in desert climates like the Chihuahuan Desert in Big Bend National Park, Texas and the Sonora Desert near Gila Bend, Arizona. Desert flowers also exhibit vibrant colors and fragrances as adaptations for pollination by animals, which is a strategy not related to water conservation but is critical for the plants' reproductive success.