Talk:Larrea tridentata

I suspect this page is setting a record for the number of people who are going to swap out a perfectly good photo for one they took themselves. It's not a blog people. Let it be.--y6y6y6 21:52, 24 July 2006 (UTC)

equal age?
"it has been shown that the root systems of mature creosote plants are simply so efficient at absorbing water that fallen seeds nearby cannot accumulate enough water to germinate, effectively creating dead zones around every plant. It also seems that all plants within a stand grow at approximately the same rate, and that the creosote bush is a very long-living plant. From this, it can be concluded that all the plants inside a stand are of equal age."

There is some missing information here. There is not enough information here to warrant drawing the conclusion that the plants in a stand are of equal age, and the article makes it sound as if these two things lead to the conclusion. Its certainly doesn't follow from the info given. So whats up? Unless they just mean "since the plants are old, they are for all intents and purposes of equal age" (like two sets of hominid bones might be of "equal age" in geological terms, even though they may have lived 10,000 years apart. But I don't think the age of any plants warrant such equivocation. )


 * OK, nevermind, I guess it makes more sense given the paragraph below. The "From this it can be concluded..." should be in the ending of the paragraph below Brentt 21:03, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Smell and medicinal uses
Is it worth mentioning that the creosote bush is what gives the Southwestern deserts the very distinct post rain-smell? Its also supposed to be a very important medicinal plant among Native Americans. Anyone have info on that? Brentt 21:12, 27 November 2006 (UTC)


 * If you Google "chaparral" you'll get lots of links to medicinal uses. Softlavender (talk) 02:29, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

Common name
Seems to me that the name used for this plant is currently more commonly "chaparral" as opposed to "creosote bush," and this has been the case for at least the last 30 years in my experience. At the very least, the two run about even. A Google search of "larrea tridentata" seems to give "chaparral" more the edge. I'm noting this because the nomenclature currently within the body of the article and the photos is always "creosote bush." Given the more common usage of "chaparral" shouldn't the article use that instead, or stick to the Latin name completely? Softlavender (talk) 02:38, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

As of Nov 2013, Google recognizes "larrea tridentata" as a synonym for "creosote bush"; creosote bush is the common name supplied by the USDA plants database, and it is what is used in NPS visitor centers. Also, in the first line - I dislike the listing of "greasewood" as a common name, and the source cited is very poor. Greasewood is the common name of a common shrub that grows in the same area - "Sarcobatus vermiculatus". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:304:78B0:6219:D866:CA62:8B1F:D27B (talk) 06:00, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Logic issue
"The small leaves of the creosote bush have a high surface-volume ratio, optimizing the rate at which heat escapes and water content is retained."

A high surface-volume ratio would actually *increase* the rate of water transpiration, no? Larrea relies on its resinous cuticle to *mitigate* the effects of its high syrface-volume ratio. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.168.140.223 (talk) 22:27, 25 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Do you know if the resinous cuticle a wax (epicuticular wax)? HkFnsNGA (talk) 18:20, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Etymology of "Tri" - Three?
There is a third "leaf", which is visible after a rain, but drops off. According to Jepson, the leaves are "obliquely lanceolate to curved; deciduous awn between leaflets. Is this where the "tri" of tridentata comes from? HkFnsNGA (talk) 14:42, 27 August 2010 (UTC)
 * According to Remarkable Plants of Texas: Uncommon Accounts of Our Common Natives by Matt Warnock Turner "tridentata is Latin for three-toothed in reference to very obscure features of the petals and staminal scales". Melburnian (talk) 00:00, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Spacing: Biological warfare or. Water wars?
I learned in a desert ecology class in southern AZ donkeys years ago that it is the former, but at this remove I don't recall if the plants [were thought to] emit a germination inhibitor or an actual herbicide. Now our poorly-sourced section says,
 * ...it has been shown[citation needed] that the root systems of mature creosote plants are simply so efficient at absorbing water that fallen seeds nearby cannot accumulate enough water to germinate, effectively...

So, it would be nice if an expert came by? If not, I might look into it, sometime in the sweet bye & bye... Or not. --Pete Tillman (talk) 08:51, 14 February 2019 (UTC)

Name not derived from smell of creosote compound
In reading Reference #8: What is that smell before it rains? from The Arizona Republic, I came across this line:

''"But don't confuse the creosote bush with creosote oil, a coal-tar petroleum product used to preserve wood crates, palates and telephone poles. The oils smell nothing alike."

The Wikipedia page has this line in the Description section:

The whole plant exhibits a characteristic odor of creosote, from which the common name derives.[7]

This is supposedly supported by Reference #7, but the reference doesn't seem to mention the name coming from the alleged similarity of the smell of the creosote compound and the smell of the plant, and according to Reference #8, the creosote compound smells nothing like the plant.

I'll leave the line in the Wikipedia article, but I respectfully suggest it be deleted as erroneous, barring a superseding reference to the Arizona Republic article.

--2600:8800:7B01:DB00:3C9F:6D49:9D30:AB6B (talk) 03:11, 26 July 2019 (UTC)