Creosote Bush

Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata) is also know as called desert greasewood and chaparral. In Sonora, it is more commonly called “hediondilla” (in Spanish hediondo means “smelly”). It is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae. The scientific name tridentata refers to its three-toothed leaves.

Creosote Bush is a prominent shrub species in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahua deserts were it grows abundantly in seemingly inhospitable terrain. It is most abundant in alluvial fans and flats. It occurs in well drained soils. It is an evergreen shrub growing between 3 and 10 feet tall. The fruit is a fuzzy cream colored capsule with five carpels, each containing a seed. The whole plant exhibits the characteristic odor of creosote from which the name derives.

Mature Creosote Bush plants can survive extreme drought and high heat. Cells quickly absorb morning dew and rainfall. Water loss is reduced by a resinous waxy coating on the leaves which prevents them from heating up.

Creosote germinates and establishes during periods of cool weather. “Ideal conditions” are often separated by years of dormancy. As a result, Creosote reseeding can take many years (even decades) to establish, and often needs to be reseeded multiple times.

Creosote is one of the oldest living organisms on earth. In the present day Lucern Valley of California, the King Clone creosote ring is estimated at 11,700 years old. Plants in the clone reach up to 67 feet in diameter.

Larrea tridentata was used medicinally by native inhabitants. In the regions where it grows, its smell is often associated with the “smell of rain”, as the scent of its’ resinous leaves intensifies in rain.