Larrea tridentata branches and leaves infused over several moons in in Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Creosote Bush is found in the Mojave, Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts in the Southwest and into Mexico. It covers miles of terrain, sometimes creating a sea-like illusion on the desert floor much like Sagebrush does in the cooler Great Basin desert to the north.

Creosote Bush is commonly named as such because this plant's heavy resinous scent and tacky demeanor has been compared to the smell of creosote found in stove pipes. It doesn't really smell like black soot at all to me, but does indeed have a sweet, ancient and deep earth smell that especially fills the air after rainstorms when it opens it stomata and on cool mornings in the desert where it grows. This plant is also called Chaparral and Gobernadora.

Stories, scientific studies and the ethnobotanical information available on the plant suggest that native folks did historically and still do use the plant for a number of ailments including: as a mild sunscreen or after sun care, chicken pox, eczema, sores (like the kinds my dad gets from working in the sun, and probably includes staph and the like), measles, as a styptic (powdered to stop bleeding), for burns and reducing burn scars, during colds and flus, as a mild expectorant, cramp relief, rheumatism and more.

For a complete plant profile on Larrea tridentata, that I wrote a few years ago, read here.

https://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com/blog/2018/4/6/creosote

This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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