Creosote Bush

Creosote Bush, common name for five related species of bushes of the evergreen family. Growing to a height of about 3 m (10 ft) in dry, hot regions, creosote bushes range from the southwestern United States into South America. The name derives from the tarlike odor of the resin. An individual creosote bush can live for up to 100 years, but the crown of the bush also splits into several lobes that eventually bend over into the surrounding soil and develop their own roots and branches. Because these new shoots are genetically identical to, or clones of, the original bush, the spreading plants may be thought of as still constituting the original one. An elliptical grouping of such clones found in the Mojave Desert has been dated as about 11,700 years old, arguably making it the oldest plant life yet known.

Scientific classification: Creosote bushes belong to the family Zygophyllaceae. They constitute the genus Larrea. The name applies particularly to the species Larrea tridentata.