Chaparral - (Larrea tridentata) is a desert shrub native to the Southwestern United States and throughout Mexico, where it is more commonly known as the Creosote bush. It is an evergreen shrub that usually grows to about 4 feet high, but up to 12 feet with abundant water. It has small, flat, waxy leaves on long stems, 5-petaled yellow flowers, and fruit encased in fuzzy white pods. The Chaparral plant has developed numerous unique survival tactics to master and essentially dominate the desert landscape. Chaparral has evolved to angle its stems as they grow, towards the morning sunshine in the Southeast. This way, all of its photosynthesis takes place when the desert air is still relatively cool and moist, and the plant doesn’t lose too much water, as it would in the scorching midday heat. Its fragrant, evergreen leaves are too bitter to be eaten by local wildlife, but waxy and broad in order to collect rare and valuable minerals in the form of dust from the air, eventually improving the soil in which the plant grows. These defenses and tactics have the effect of enriching the plant with a unique and valuable set of chemical compounds. The strong aroma of Chaparral leaves comes from a combination of volatile oils including terpenes, limonene and camphor among others. These volatile oils have long been used as potent antimicrobials and antifungals and are believed to be very beneficial, especially for the skin. Dried Chaparral leaves can be infused in water for a skin wash or bath tea, hair rinse or mouthwash.

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