Creosote Bush
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Creosote Bush
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photography
Description
Larrea tridentata, called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and gobernadora which is Spanish for "governess" in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called hediondilla; Spanish hediondo means "smelly". Creosote is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae. The specific name tridentata refers to its three-toothed leaves.
As the creosote bush grows older, its oldest branches eventually die and its crown splits into separate crowns. This normally happens when the plant is 30 to 90 years old. Eventually, the old crown dies and the new one becomes a clonal colony from the previous plant, composed of many separate stem crowns all from the same seed.
The "King Clone" creosote ring is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. It has been alive an estimated 11,700 years, in the central Mojave Desert near present-day Lucerne Valley, California. This single clonal colony plant of L. tridentata reaches up to 67 feet in diameter, with an average diameter of 45 feet.
King Clone was identified and its age estimated by Frank Vasek, a professor at the University of California, Riverside. Measurements of the plant, as well as radiocarbon dating of wood fragments, were used to determine the plant's mean annual growth rate outward from the center of the ring. By measuring the diameter of the ring, its total age could be estimated. It is within the Creosote Rings Preserve of the Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley.
Native Americans in the Southwest held beliefs that it treated many maladies, including sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, chicken pox, dysmenorrhea, and snakebite. The Coahuilla Indians used the plant for intestinal complaints and tuberculosis. The Pima drank a decoction of the leaves as an emetic, and applied the boiled leaves as poultices to wounds or sores. Tohono O'odham Indians prepared it medicinally for stiff limbs, snake bites, and menstrual cramps. The shrub is still widely used as an herbal medicine in Mexico.
Larrea tridentata is often referred to as chaparral when used as a herbal remedy and supplement; however, it does not grow in the synonymous plant community chaparral. The United States Food and Drug Administration issued warnings about the health hazards of ingesting chaparral or using it as an internal medicine, and discourages its use. In 2005, Health Canada issued a warning to consumers to avoid using the leaves of Larrea species because of the risk of damage to the liver and kidneys.
Cancer Research UK states: “We don't recommend that you take chaparral to treat or prevent any type of cancer.”
Some digital effects were applied to the original image after the photograph was made. No electrons were harmed during the transition.
Image copyright 2022 Jon Burch Photography.
Uploaded
March 13th, 2022
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