Larrea Explained

Larrea is a genus of flowering plants in the caltrop family, Zygophyllaceae. It contains five species of evergreen shrubs that are native to the Americas. The generic name honours Bishop Juan Antonio Hernández Pérez de Larrea, a patron of science.^{[1] [2]} South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and can produce fertile interspecific hybrids. One of the more notable species is the creosote bush (L. tridentata) of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. The King Clone ring in the Mojave Desert is a creosote bush clonal colony estimated to be about 11,700 years old.

Species

• Larrea ameghinoi
• Larrea cuneifolia
• Larrea divaricata Cav.
• Larrea nitida
• Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville  - creosote bush^[3]

References

• T. J. Mabry, J. H. Hunziker, and D. R. Di Feo, D. R. (Eds.). Creosote Bush: Biology and Chemistry of Larrea in New World Deserts US/IBP Synthesis Series N° 6 (Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Inc. PA, 1977)
• Juan H. Hunziker and Cecilia Comas, "Larrea interspecific hybrids revisited (Zygophyllaceae)" Darwiniana, 40(1-4): pp. 33–38 (2002)

Notes and References

1. Book: Couplan, François . The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America . McGraw-Hill Professional . 1998 . 978-0-87983-821-8 . 312.
2. "Larrea" is itself a Basque surname, where larrea stands for a village in Álava (Spain), ultimately meaning 'meadow' (plus article -a).
3. Web site: GRIN Species Records of Larrea . Germplasm Resources Information Network . United States Department of Agriculture . 2010-10-08.