The smell of the Desert after a rain

When I first moved to the Southwest I learned to love the distinctive odor of the desert after a rainfall. It had a strong, musty odor. Some people love that smell, others hate it. I couldn't figure out why the rain smelled that way and assumed it was the rain drops hitting the dry sandy soil. Then eventually I found out the smell came from the raindrops hitting the leaves of the Creosote Bush (Larrea Tridentata). I could even smell the rain falling far away and knew the rain was coming my way.

I always wanted to have one in my backyard garden, to make sure I could smell the rain when it fell. Sometimes I tire of waiting for the rare desert rains and just throw a bucket of water on my plant so that I can smell it. As a result it has grown fast and bigger than the desert plants that have to wait for the rains.



The Creosote bush is one of the most common desert plants and helps to make the southwest desert look green. It is extremely drought tolerant and adapted to the desert. It will shed most of its waxy, resinous leaves but not all during extreme drought. It competes for the available water with other plants and usually wins. Creosote lives a long time, some plants are thought to be over 11,000 years old.

Since the leaves contain many anti-herbivory resinous compounds, the plant is seldom eaten by grazing animals of any kind. The plant itself is visited by many bees for its pollen, but it is not a good source of nectar. Burrowing animals dig holes around the base of the plant and use these during the heat of the day and then emerge to forage at night. Snakes,spiders, and scorpions sometimes use these holes.

According to Desertusa.com :
This medium-to-large evergreen shrub has numerous flexible stems projecting at an angle from its base. It is usually less than 4 feet high, but can grow to 12-foot heights with abundant water. Its small (1/4 to 1/2 inches), pointed, yellow-green leaves have adapted to conserve water and dissipate heat. The bush may lose some of these waxy, resinous leaves during extreme drought, but never loses them all. These leaves are especially pungent after a rain, and have been used as antiseptics and emetics by native peoples. Its foliage provides refuge for crickets, grasshoppers and praying mantids.

The Creosote Bush is NOT the source of the commercial creosote used to preserve wood and other uses.

Below is a photo of my "baby" Creosote in 2006. They are hard to transplant so I bought a nursery specimen.