The discovery of an atypically shaped Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens Englem.) at one of my research sites in the foothills of the Organ Mountains in southern New Mexico led to a study to determine whether this was an oddity or a recurring growth form. Ocotillo, the iconic C3, drought-deciduous desert shrub of the Chihuahuan and Sonoran Deserts, typically appears as a multistemmed, spine-laden shrub described as having the appearance of an inverted cone. The new growth form introduced here departed markedly from the V-shape so often associated with Ocotillo. The new growth form, termed Tarantula because its stems are reminiscent of the low, arching legs of the spider, is characterized by having a) a ratio of <0.8 between the maximum height above ground of its longest stem and the maximum length of the same stem, b) an angle between the longest stem and the ground of <50°, and c) stems with a horizontal or downward arching curvature. In 71 transects distributed across four states in the United States and two states in Mexico, 8% of the 6739 Ocotillos sampled were the Tarantula growth form. The mean percentage of Tarantula plants per transect was 8.9%. Six hypotheses are offered as potential explanations for the atypical architecture of the Tarantula growth form. That none of these hypotheses provided a definitive explanation indicates that this visually distinct, widely distributed variant of Fouquieria splendens merits further study. Three avenues of future research are suggested.