Larrea

This article is about a genus of shrubs. For other uses, see Larrea (disambiguation).

Larrea
Larrea tridentata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Zygophyllales
Family:	Zygophyllaceae
Subfamily:	Larreoideae
Genus:	Larrea Cav.
Species
Larrea ameghinoi Larrea cuneifolia Larrea divaricata Larrea nitida Larrea tridentata
Synonyms
Covillea Vail Neoschroetera Briq. Schroeterella Briq.

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 Spanish scientist J.A. Hernández Pérez de Larrea. South American members of this genus are known as jarillas and are so closely related that hybrids are partially fertile. 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 11,700 years old.

Species

• Larrea ameghinoi
• Larrea cuneifolia
• Larrea divaricata Cav.
• Larrea nitida
• Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville – creosote bush

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)

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Larrea at Wikispecies