Stats

Lifespan: Centuries
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Desert
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

An iconic desert shrub of the Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts, easily recognised by its small waxy olive-green leaves and bright yellow five-petalled flowers. Some creosote clones—expanding rings of genetically identical stems—are estimated to be over 11,000 years old, ranking among the oldest living organisms on Earth.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Zygophyllales
Family: Zygophyllaceae
Genus: Larrea
Species: Larrea tridentata