Many would say that their favorite activity would definitely not be hiking through the hot desert in search of desert plants.  However, as I sit at my desk for eight hours a day, plugging away at my allotment of this season in my life, my mind wanders through the desert, soaking in the dry desert heat like a lizard in a terrarium (instead of shivering from the artificial cooling of the office air conditioning), taking calculated steps so as not to disturb a resting rattlesnake or step on any baby plants poking their fragile heads through the ground’s topsoil.  I imagine the aroma of the area because in my mind it just rained (though it rarely rains in Southern Utah where I live) and the distinct aroma of Chaparral fills my mind with peace, quietness, and inner serenity.

 

The locals of this area seem to know this plant more by the name Creosote Bush.  I visited several of our city’s nurseries in search of the herb so that I could plant one in my desert garden situated in the back yard, and not one person knew what I was talking about when I asked for the Chaparral.  I didn’t think to ask for Creosote as I really didn’t grow up with that name.  Everyone I grew up with knew the plant as “The Chaparral.”  Even my mother, who was born in Scotland, but resided in Henderson/Las Vegas, Nevada area since the 1960’s knows the plant as “The Chaparral.”

 

I love these desert kings, the Chaparrals.  I didn’t realize that until stopping by our local herb shop, Grandma’s Herbs, last year and asking about Chaparral after reading a bit about it.  The informed clerk instructed that I just go out and pick some for myself since I wasn’t prepared to purchase the one-pound bags they had prepared.  I told her I wasn’t really sure what I was looking for (yes, I’m one of those babies poking my fragile head through the topsoil of herbology).  She promptly escorted me to the side of their premises where they meticulously planted a few of the desert kings, and proceeded to pinch off a sample for me.

 

“Whoa!  I know what this is!  I grew up with this plant,” I told her.  “We used to make our fort-houses inside these big bushes that grew in the desert next to our home.”  I took my sample back to the car, where my husband was “patiently” waiting for me and exclaimed my joy over this golden nugget I just discovered.  I had him take a whiff of the pinched herb and he was immediately repulsed.  Isn’t that strange, the plant brought back a flood of wonderful memories and emotions for me: peace, quietness, simple joy, well-being, and an intense desire to return to the simply life of my youth; but my husband’s response was:  let’s get the shopping done, get the chores done, and get him home so he can get on with the gazillion things he’s got planned before the day’s end.

 

Well, I retreated into my own space and quietly contemplated my golden nugget and snuck whiffs of the resinous aroma that would last for hours and hours throughout the day.

Chaparral!  Let’s visit this king of the desert and get to know him more personally, for I truly like his company.

 

Chaparral has one of the most ancient histories of any herb I have studied, with some references dating it as far back as 8.4 to 4.2 million years (Lia and others 2001).  One plant in the Mohave Desert has been carbon dated to be over 11,000 years old.  Having no apparent main stock, the plant keeps growing outer branches as inside branches decay, causing a vacant “ring” to be formed in the middle of the plant.  Eventually, multiple plants morph out from the one, cloned from a single seed.   The O’odham natives of the Sonoran Desert claim it to be the very first plant ever created and used it extensively as a medicinal tea (Dimmitt).  Though Dimmitt says it’s a mystery how the Creosote Bush came to North America, Nellessen believes he has documented packrat dens containing the plant’s remains, along with possible bird dispersal of the seeds as they migrated north (Nellessen).

 

The Latin name Larrea originated from Bishop Juan Antonio Hernandez Perez de Larrea (1731-1803), a Spanish clergyman at Valladolid and patron of Science; and “tridentate” being derived from the word “three-toothed” (Charters).   Another Spanish name for the Chaparral is “Paloondo.”

 

This evergreen shrub, which is the signature plant of the southwestern deserts (Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Mohave), is known as the most drought-tolerant plant of the desert regions, living up to two years without water.  Its leaves are covered with a resinous substance akin to creosote oil (thus one of its known names) that helps it to conserve water and prevent evaporation.  It will actually drop its leaves to preserve its own water reserve.  When the rains come, it will quickly revive itself and burst out with new stems and green leaves.  In fact, after the rains, one can see an almost instant difference of the fresh new green metamorphous vs. the brown areas that did not receive the rains (Boone). 

 

Two species of the Creosote Bush exist:  the South American L. divaricata and the North American L. tridentate.  However, these two species are so incredibly similar that researchers consider them the same species (Mabry).  Apparently, if the two are grown close together, they will hybridize as demonstrated in experimental gardens (Nellessen). 

 

For hundreds of years Larrea Tridentata has been used by the Native Americans as a medicinal aid for a multitude of afflictions.  These tribes include the Coahuilla, Diegueno, Hualapai, Isleta, Kawaiisu, Mahuna, Paiute, Papago, Pima, Shoshoni and Yavapai, mostly from the Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, California, New Mexico, and Mexico areas (Moerman).

The Native Americans were very skilled in preparing and administering the herb, using it in a multitude of preparations in diseases such as:

 

·   Chickenpox and shingles

·   Arthritis, Rheumatism and Painful Joints

·   Asthma, Congestion, Chest Infections

·   Bowel Problems

·   Cancer

·   Cold Medicine

·   Disinfectant / Antiseptic

·   Diuretic

·   Emetic

·   General medical Use

·   Gynecological Aid

·   Oral Rinse, Toothache

·   Rheumatism, Pain, Headache and Fever

·   All manner of skin disorders

·   Tuberculosis

·   V.D.

·   Veterinarian uses for colds to wounds    

    (Moerman)