Jatropha cardiophylla  Sangre de Drago
DECIDUOUS SHRUB.  Most of the time, this plant is a spray of sturdy, diverging, flexible dark red or maroon twigs with sparse, thick, stubby branches.  Comes to life after summer rains, sprouting smooth, shiny, bright green heart-shaped leaves and tiny urn-shaped pink flowers.  Leaves drop in September or October.  A common shrub of sandy washes and rocky slopes in the Sonoran Desert, it reaches the eastern edge of its range in the Empires and the Rincon Mountains a few miles to the north.  In the Empires, it is locally common on a few granite tors and large volcanic outcrops, and leaves tend to be smaller than average.  Empire plants are usually about 1 m tall or less.  J. macrorhiza is also called Sangre de Drago but looks completely different and is an herb with large ragged-looking leaves (see photo).
FAMILY:  Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)