Hediondilla

I have quite a collection of different woods that I use in my art pieces.  It is very interesting to research the background of each.  The wood used in the art piece discussed in this post has a number of names.  It's scientific name is Larrea tridentata and is also known as creosote bush and greasewood as a plant,chaparral as a medicinal herb, and as "gobernadora" in Mexico, Spanish for "governess," due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called "hediondilla."  So, you see where the title for this post originated.

Larrea tridentata is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 to 9 ft tall, rarely 13 ft. The stems of the plant bear resinous, dark green leaves. The flowers are up to 1 in diameter, with five yellow petals. Galls may form by the activity of the creosote gall midge. The whole plant exhibits a characteristic odor of creosote, from which the common name derives.  In the regions where it grows its smell is often associated with the "smell of rain".

These plants live for many years.  Eventually the old    crown dies and the new one becomes a clonal colony from the previous plant, composed of many separate stem crowns all from the same seed

The "King Clone" creosote ring is one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. It has been alive 11,700 years, in the central Mojave Desert near present day Lucerne Valley, California, shown above.. This single clonal colony plant of Larrea tridentata reaches up to 67 feet in diameter, with an average diameter of 45 feet. King Clone was identified and its age determined by radiocarbon dating by Frank Vasek, a professor at the University of California, Riverside. It is within the Creosote Rings Preserve of the Lucerne Valley and Johnson Valley.

By now it should be obvious that this is a very special plant  and one I am glad to have in my collection.  Hediondilla is shown below.

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                     Hediondilla

.More detail can be found on my art at my website <www.apatchablue.com>