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Larrea tridentata

Common name:	Creosote Bush	Family:	Zygophyllaceae
Author:	(Sessé .& Moc. ex DC.)Coville.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:	Larrea mexicana (Moric.), Larrea divaricata (Cav.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America.
Habitat:	Desert areas[254].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Covillea tridentata[B,P] L. divaricata auct. non[P] L. glutinosa[B,P] L. tridentata var. tridentata[B,P] Zygophyllum tridentatum[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Chaparral [H,S,E], Chaparral, Gobernadora, Hediondilla, Creosote Bush [S], Creosote Bush [S,H,DEN2,E], Creosote-bush [B], Creosotebush [P,FEIS], Gebernadora [H], Gobernadora [S,E], Greasewood [H], Hediondilla [H,S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	dentata = with teeth tridentata = 3 toothed
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Sapindales. Creosote-bush family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico Mexico(Kickapoo) Mexico(Seri) Us
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: USA Invasive.

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4m. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment Tea.

The flower buds are pickled in vinegar and used as a caper substitute[183].
The stems and leaves are a tea substitute[183].
The twigs are chewed to alleviate thirst[2, 183].
A resin is obtained from the leaves and twigs, it delays or prevents oils and fats from becoming rancid[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Expectorant Odontalgic.

Creosote bush was widely used by various North American Indian tribes. A decoction of the leaves was used to treat diarrhoea and stomach troubles whilst the young twigs were used to treat toothache and a poultice of the leaves was used to treat chest complaints and as a wash for skin problems[254]. It continued to be widely used as a treatment for rheumatic disease, venereal infections, urinary infections and certain types of cancer, especially leukaemia until its sale was banned in North America due to concern over its potential toxic effect upon the liver[254]. There have been a number of cases of acute or sub-acute hepatitis attributed to the use of this herb and so its internal use is not recommended until further research has been carried out[254].
A tea made from the leaves is used as an expectorant and pulmonary antiseptic[213].
Some N. American Indian tribes heated the shoot tips of this plant and dripped the sap (probably the resin[K]) into tooth cavities to treat toothache[213].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a moderately fertile moisture-retentive soil in full sun or light shade[200].
This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10° c[200].
The plant is resinous and aromatic[200].

Propagation

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a greenhouse in spring. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of new growth in spring in a frame[200].

Scent

Leaves: Crushed: The plant is resinous and aromatic.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Larrea divaricata (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Larrea mexicana (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Larrea tridentata var. tridentata (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for larrea tridentata (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Zygophyllaceae.

To be included in the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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