Often erroneously called “greasewood,” creosotebush is generally
recognized as the most adaptable of all desert plants, and a definite
indicator of the Lower Sonoran Life Zone. The shrubs cover thousands of
square miles, often in pure stands, and flower throughout much of the
year, but most profusely in April and May. Fuzzy white, globular fruits
are almost as spectacular as the flowers. The plant can endure long
periods of drought. Following rains its foliage gives off a musty,
resinous odor, suggestive of creosote, stimulating the Mexican name
_hediondilla_ (little stinker). In Mexico the plant is considered to
have medicinal values and many uses. The Pima Indians boiled the leaves,
using the decoction as an emetic and to poultice sores. They used the
lac, found as an incrustation on the branches, to cement arrow-points
and to mend pottery.
_Larrea tridentata_ Caltrop Family
[Illustration: CREOSOTEBUSH]