Here's something else that Brown Peak's campfire and Joe McCosker might be further interested in, for future spirited debates4, (NOV.-DEC. Sage) and in case there's nothing else to talk about, and a runout of dirty jokes somehow leads into scientific discussions and a sleeper:
The most common and widely distributed shrub in the deserts occurring on the plains and slopes of the foothills from sea level to about 4,000 feet elevation. California at isolated stations west of the deserts, where probably the seeds have been carried in the wool of sheep (Poso Flat, Kern County; Aguangua, Riverside County) and occurring from the vicinity of Owens Lake southward throughout the Mojave and Colorado deserts; Nevada in southern Nye County and in Clark and Lincoln counties; southwestern Utah on the Virgin River drainage; Arizona along the Colorado River from Kanab Creek downstream and throughout the Mojave, Colorado and Arizona deserts and the adjacent desert grassland; New Mexico on the Gila River, Rio Grande, and Pecos River drainages; ocurring as far northward as Albuquerque; western Texas; Mexico; Argentina and Chile.
The plant varies in leaf width, venation, and hairiness, and in size of the scales of the filaments, The north American plants may constitute one or more varieties of Larrea Divaricata, described from a South American type, but differences are slight.
The creosote bush occurs in the driest and hottest portions of North America. It forms pure stands in many of its ranges, particularly on sandy or gravelly mesas and slopes. In southern Arizona and New Mexico it may occupy sandy or heavy soils underlain by the calcerous hardpan known as caliche. It is adapted to many soil types, but usually it is absent from markedly saline soils.
The small, resinous leaves impart a strong creosotelike odor which is evident particularly after a rain. The abundance of the species and the odor have led to application of such local names as hedionilla or "little bad smeller". The plant is called also gobernadora, and in southern Arizona the commonest name is "greasewood", a name applied to many plants and better reserved for the widespread shrub of alkaline places in the Great Basin and in portions of the creosote-bush desert.
The creosote bush is fed upon by only a few insects and occasionally by jack rabbits. However, in some parts of Mexico the flower buds are pickled in vinegar and are considered to be a choice food item. There are reports that poultices of creosote bush are applied to bruises and sores and that decoctions of the leaves have antiseptic properties. In primitive medicine the decoctions are taken internally for tuberculosis and gastric complaints. Like other ubiquitous plants with peculiar odors or flavors, creosote bush has tended to become a cure-all.
The excretions of the lac scale are deposited sometimes in great quantity on the stems, and the Indians utilized them for mending pottery and for waterproofing baskes in the Palm Springs area. Globular leafy galls about as large as marbles or walnuts are common on the stems. These are produced by the creosote gall midge.
Source: The Trees & Shrubs of Southwestern Deserts - Benson.
At the very least, the above, if it does not rush the parties to the sleeping bag, it might keep them from falling into the campfire - oh-hum.
