Chaparral Larrea tridentata

Creosote bush is an evergreen shrub in the Zygophyllaceae family native to the Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Sonoran Deserts in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. 

This shrub thrives in hot dry desert climates. It prefers full sun and rocky, well-drained calcerous or sandy soil. The roots are extremely efficient at absorbing and retaining water, and the small leaves are capable of folding in half to reduce water loss during drought. Given these cultural conditions, it may be difficult to cultivate in North Carolina. 

Creosote shrub is common throughout its natural range, where it is used ornamentally in xeriscaping. Extreme droughts may induce pure stands of this species. Young leaves are coated in a fragrant oily resin, another adaptation against water loss. Indigenous people use it topically and in tea to treat muscle pain, fever, paralysis, indigestion, and open wounds. Germination rates are low, and it reproduces primarily via cloning. One clonal colony was found to be around 11,700 years old.