Creosote Bush
Larrea tridentata
Drawn from live specimen growing near Lake Roosevelt, Arizona, USA on 7 Sept. 1992. A number of creosote bush insects are shown: (a) A pair of galls produced by larvae of Asphondylia midges and adult gnat, (b) a green-and-white grasshopper, Bootettix argentatus, (c) desert clicker, Ligurotettix coquilletti, (d) a buprestid beetle ca. Chrysobothris, (e) another gall produced by a different species of Asphondylia, (f) twig-mimicking caterpillar of a geometer, (g) the adult of caterpillar, Semiothisa pallidata and (g) pupal stage of the moth which normally hides beneath litter on the soil.
Photographed near Lookout Mountain, Phoenix Maricopa Co., Arizona. July 2002.
LEAVES: Small compound leaves are shiny, resinous, and dark green when young but can
remain on shrubs for extended periods turning almost brown but still viable.
The resin odor is at once acrid to deter plant eaters and yet pungently pleasant. The
whole desert takes on this heavenly aroma after a rain shower signaling a return of life
and verdance.
RANGE: Abundant and drought-resistent shrub found in all the warm
deserts of southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico: Chihuahuan,
Sonoran and Mojave Deserts mostly below 1300 m elevation. Absent from
flood-prone areas along rivers.
FLOWERS: Yellow flowers with five petals appear generously in spring and almost any
other time of year following periods of generous rainfall.
SHRUB: Medium to large sized shrubs. Often several seemingly distinct shrubs will
be growing together in a ring 6 to 20 m in diameter. This represents a clone
of an original plant that may have been growing continuously for thousands of
years.
FRUIT: Spherical shizocarps with a halo of glistening white pubescence
have usually 5 sections each containing a single seed.
UNARMED. No thorns. Defense is provided by a suite of toxic/
anti-feeding chemicals.