Discover the expert in you.
Discover the expert in you.
The creosote bush (Larrea tridentate) thrives in and helps define the Southwest’s hottest deserts: the Sonoran, Mojave and Chihuahan. The plant's presence fades out along the southern frontier of the coldest of the continent’s drylands, the Great Basin Desert. The creosote bush often exists in symbiotic relationship with organisms called endophytes, notably fungi, in an association mirrored across much of the plant world.
A creosote bush is named for its strong odor, which resembles that of creosote. The bush can be anywhere from 3 to 13 feet in height and has sticky green leaves and yellow flowers. The seed ball can be white to red in color, sometimes appearing pinkish, and is pendulous and hairy. Chances are good, any red growth on your creosote bush is this woolly seed pod.
There’s nothing like a fire burning in your fireplace to warm you up on a chilly day. Chimneys and fireplaces require frequent maintenance to keep them working properly and safely, and to prevent the buildup of creosote. Creosote is a byproduct of wood-burning fires that can build up in a chimney over time. Creosote has a distinct smell.
Creosote bushes, or Larrea tridentata, are perennial, drought-resistant plants that can encroach upon lawns and flowerbeds. The good news for gardeners is that it takes creosote bushes about 10 years to spring up again after they have been removed, according to the U.S. Park Service. To kill these weedy shrubs, gardeners use Roundup, which contains glyphosate, an herbicide that prevents the plant from producing proteins. Using Roundup correctly is imperative, especially around ornamental flowers, because the herbicide kills any plant that comes in contact with it.
The creosote bush is a small shrub native to North American desert regions. In many desert areas, it is the only plant to be seen for miles on end. This can largely be attributed to the plant's extreme drought tolerance; it is able to live for two years without water. Since it is nearly the only plant around in large parts of the desert, many insects and animals in the desert depend on the creosote bush for food or shelter, and many have profoundly adapted themselves to the bush.
Creosote is a combination of unburned gases, ash particles and condensation that collect and form layers on the inside walls of a stovepipe or chimney during use. It accumulates in stages, beginning with soft flakes that eventually harden into a thick solid layer, and is progressively more difficult to remove at each stage. All wood-burning devices produce creosote, and the severity of the problem varies with the type of system used and how the wood is burned.
For dirt track kart racers, tire performance is a critical factor in winning a race. Racers have experimented with different treatments on tires for many years in efforts to improve the performance of their tires and win races. Creosote, used primarily as a preservative for utility poles and railroad ties, is one of these treatments.
Coal-tar creosote is an important preservative in the commercial use of wood. Many common wood structures that we see everyday have most likely been preserved with coal-tar creosote. Obtained from the distillation of coal-tar, some of the hundreds of chemicals contained in the compound are hazardous and carcinogenic.
