B67 



CREOSOTEBUSH 



Covil'lea tridenta'ta, syns. C. glutino'sa, C. mexica'na, Lar'rea tridenta'ta 



glutino'sa 



Flowers solitary, short-stalked, from 

 leaf axils 



Petals 5, bright yellow, somewhat 

 clawed at 'bases, twisted like propeller 

 blades 



Outer flower parts (sepals) 5, slightly 

 unequal, yellow, silky-hairy, blunt- 

 tipped, soon-falling 



Stamens 10, on a small, 10-lobed 

 disk, with stalks (filaments) winged on 

 inside below; each wing 2-toothed' 



Fruit capsulnr, . spherical, densely 



, . , 



long-hairy, tipped by threadlike sta 

 (persistent style), breaking up into 

 "seeds" (nutlets) 



Leaves opposite, evergreen, leathery, 

 divided (pinnately compound) into 2 

 leaflets, bright green, resinous, finely 

 glandular-hairy, almost stalkless; bracts 

 (stipules) at base of leafstalks, scale- 

 like, not spinelike 



Leaflets about }{ in. long or less, 

 somewhat sickle-shaped, united at base 



Stems woody, angled, often much- 

 branched towards ends, densely leafy, 

 somewhat silky-hairy when young, 

 becoming hairless 



Creosotebush, a shapely evergreen shrub, is one of the most characteristic 

 plants of the southwestern deserts. Extensive bright green oases, contrasting 

 sharply with the usual grayish hue of the desert, are formed by pure stands of 

 this shiny-leaved, yellow-flowered shrub. The plant has a creosotelike odor, 

 especially when burned, which accounts for its common name. It is known 

 locally as gobernadora, greasewood, hediondilla, and numerous other common 

 names referring to the strong, pungent odor or to the resinous properties of the 



