creosote bush

American  

noun

1. any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Larrea, of the caltrop family, especially L. tridentata, of arid regions of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, having yellow flowers and resinous foliage with a strong odor of creosote.

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creosote bush British  

noun

1. Also called: greasewood.  a shrub, Larrea (or Covillea ) tridentata of the western US and Mexico, that has resinous leaves with an odour resembling creosote, and can live for many thousands of years: family Zygophyllaceae

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Etymology

Origin of creosote bush

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

At a creosote bush — a-tu-kul in the Cahuilla language — Castro explained how families would boil the leaves to make tea, often sweetened with honey.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2023

Instead of reporting the incident to the park ranger he spun a story about falling down a steep bank and cutting his head open on a creosote bush.

From BBC • Dec. 1, 2021

He landed in a creosote bush near a dry lake bed.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 13, 2018

Stately hardwood trees give way to squat shrubs, verdant cornfields to brown wheat and lush grasslands to cacti and creosote bush.

From Scientific American • Apr. 27, 2018

Matt retreated into the cover of a creosote bush.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer