Larrea tridentata is known as creosote shrub and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and as gobernadora in Mexico, Spanish for "nanny", for its ability to secure more water by inhibiting nearby plant growth. In Sonora, this is more commonly called hediondilla.
It is a flowering plant in the Zygophyllaceae family. The specific name tridentata refers to the three toothed leaves.
Video Larrea tridentata
Distribution
Larrea tridentata is a prominent species in the Mojave Desert, Sonoran and Chihuahuan in western North America, and its range covers the area and other areas in southeastern California, Arizona, southern Nevada , Utah southwest, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, and Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, Zacatecas, Durango and San Luis Potosa in Mexico. This species grows far to the east like Zapata County, Texas, along the Rio Grande southeast of Laredo near the 99th western meridian. Maps Larrea tridentata
Description
Larrea tridentata is an evergreen shrub that grows up to 1 to 3 m (3.3 to 9.8 ft), rarely 4 m (13 ft). The stem of the plant contains resin, dark green leaves with two leaves of lanceolate that join the base, with the leaves fall between them, each 7 to 18 mm (0.28 to 0.71 inches) long flyers and 4 to 8.5 mm (0.16 to 0.33 in) wide. The flowers are 25 mm in diameter (0.98 inches), with five yellow petals. Galls can be formed by the activity of creosote gall midge. The whole plant shows the typical creosote smell, from which the common name comes from. In the area where it grows, the smell is often associated with "the smell of rain".
The oldest plant
As the creosote shrub grows older, the oldest branch eventually dies and the crown splits into a separate crown. This usually occurs when the plants are 30 to 90 years old. Finally, the old crowns die and the new ones become clonal colonies of previous plants, consisting of many separate stem crowns, all from the same seed.
King Clone
The creosote ring "King Clone" is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. It has an estimated life of 11,700 years, in the central Mojave Desert near Lucerne Valley at this time, California. This single clonal colony plant of L. tridentata reaches up to a diameter of 67Ã, ft (20 m), with an average diameter of 45Ã, ft (14 m).
The King Clone was identified and his age was estimated by Frank Vasek, a professor at the University of California, Riverside. Plant measurements, as well as radiocarbon dating of wood fragments, are used to determine the average annual growth rate of the plant out of the ring center. By measuring the diameter of the ring, its total age can be estimated. This hotel is within the Creosote Reserve Reservation in the Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley.
Habitat
Creosote shrubs are most common in well-drained soils from fans and alluvial flats. In parts of its range, it may cover a large area in a practically pure stand, although it usually occurs in association with Ambrosia dumosa (burro bush or bur-sage). The chemicals found within creosote bush roots have been shown to inhibit the growth of burro bush roots, but by 2013, most of their relationships remain unexplained.
Creosote shrubs tend to display even distribution of plants. Initially, it is assumed that plants produce water-soluble inhibitors that prevent the growth of other bushes near healthy and mature bushes. Now, however, it has been shown that the root system of the mature creosote plant is very efficient at absorbing water that falling seeds nearby can not collect enough water to germinate, effectively creating dead zones around each plant.
Desert adaptation
Due to the rigors of germination environments above the adult root system, younger creosote shrubs are much more susceptible to drought stress than established plants. Germination is actually quite active during the wet period, but most young plants die very quickly unless the water conditions are optimal. Hot soil young plants' vulnerability compounds for water stress, and soil temperatures can reach more than 70 Ã, Â ° C (160 Ã, Â ° F). To become established, the young plants seem to have to experience a three to five year pattern of cold and humid weather that is not normal during and after germination. From this, it can be concluded that all the plants in the stands have the same age.
Adult plants, however, can tolerate extreme drought stress. In terms of negative water potential, creosote shrubs can operate fully on the potential -50 bar of water and have been found to live to -120 bar, although the average practical floor is about -70 bar, where the plant requirement for cell respiration generally exceeds the required level by the process of photosynthesis that requires water. Cell division can occur during times of water pressure, and new cells usually quickly absorb water after rain. This rapid pickup causes the branch to grow a few centimeters at the end of the rainy season.
The water loss is reduced by the resin, the waxy layer of the leaves, and by its small size, which prevents it from overheating over the air temperature (which increases the deficit of vapor pressure between the leaves and air, thus increasing water loss). Plants are indeed dropping some leaves to summer, but if all the leaves are lost, the plant will not recover. The accumulation of falling leaves, as well as other detritus captured from the passing wind, creates a special ecological community for creosote shrub canopies, including beetles, millipedes, pocket mice, and kangaroo rats.
Usage
medicinal Native American
Native Americans in the Southwest hold the belief that they treat many diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, chickenpox, dysmenorrhea, and snake bites. The Coahuilla Indians use plants for bowel complaints and tuberculosis. Pima drinks boiled leaves as a triggering substance, and apply boiled leaves as a remedy for cuts or wounds. The Papago Indians prepare medicine for limbs, snakebites, and menstrual cramps. Guaiacum, after which guaiacol in creosote is named, is used by native Caribbean islands to treat tropical diseases and then for syphilis. This shrub is still widely used as a herbal medicine in Mexico.
Supplements and herbal toxicity
Larrea tridentata is often referred to as chaparral when used as an herbal remedy and supplement; However, it does not grow in the identical plant community chaparral. The US Food and Drug Administration has issued warnings about the health hazards of chaparral ingestion or use it as an internal drug, and is reluctant to use it. In 2005, Health Canada issued a warning to consumers to avoid using Larrea leaf species because of the risk of damage to the liver and kidneys.
Cancer Research UK states: "We do not recommend that you take chaparral to treat or prevent any type of cancer."
See also
- Oak Jurupa
- List of the living organisms
References
External links
- "Creosote Bush". US National Park Service.
- Larrea tridentata ". Flora Jepson Project . Berkeley, CA: University of California.
- Larrea tridentata ". Dr. Phytochemical Duke and Ethnobotanical Databases . Plasma Resource Information Network - GRIN.
- Larrea tridentata ". Fire Effects Information System . US Forest Service.
- "King Clone, The World's Living Thing Living". Record Keeping Bot . Waynesworld.
- photo links
- "Creosote shrub in the desert landscape". EPA.
- " Larrea tridentata Photos". Suu.edu.
- Larrea tridentata ". CalPhotos . Berkeley, CA: University of California.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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