Chuy,

I'll be dag'gon if that ain't an ocotillo, a Fouquieria splendens! :) Where did you get it? It's a native to CA and is found throughout the higher elevation desert (i.e. Anza-Borrego). They can grow fairly tall (7 feet or more, I think?), have little round green leaves (as you're starting to see on your plant) that grow along the "trunk" and branches, and in the spring produce spearheads of vibrant red flowers. They're also quite thorny. :)

Here's a link for images of ocotillo plants.

I don't know what the proper care is for an ocotillo, but now that you know what it is, you can look up how to care for it. :)

CG

Here is a link that might be useful: Fouquieria splendens (Wikipedia)

Are the spines in pairs (as it looks to me)? I believe it is a Pachypodium, perhaps Pachypodium bispinosum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pachypodium bispinosum

That's a Pachypodium, as Rosemarie noted - I would have guessed P. lealii.

Ach, I didn't look at the base. My bad!

Pay no attention to the [doofus] behind the curtain...!

CG

Hi all- Thank you so much for the quick responses and ID's, i actually bought this at a well known and very nice nursery in san juan capistrano- Plant Depot, they have a website as well... anyway, will try and post a picture of the flower that bloomed about 2 months after i purchased it... the other succulents were also in the plastic pot it came in, i repotted a week or so after i brought it home, it's just very interesting looking and very dangerously sharp lol! The spines do however come in twos, but a couple stems do seem to have more than 2..

Chuy

Here is a link that might be useful: bloom

I think Jeff nailed it...with Pachypodium lealii. :)