Creosote bush scrub

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Creosote bush scrub is a North American desert vegetation type (or biome) of sparsely but evenly spaced desert plants dominated by creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) and its associates. Its visual characterization is of widely spaced shrubs that are somewhat evenly distributed over flat or relatively flat desert areas that receive between 2 and 8 inches of rain each year. It covers the majority of the flat desert floor and relatively flat alluvial fans in the Mojave Desert, Chihuahuan Desert, and Sonoran Desert. The dominant plants that typify this vegetation type are creosote bush ( Larrea tridentata ) and its associates, white bur-sage ( Ambrosia dumosa ), brittlebush ( Encelia farinosa , Encelia actoni , Encelia virginensis ), cheese-bush ( Ambrosia salsola ), Mojave yucca ( Yucca schidigera ), silver cholla cactus ( Cylindropuntia echinocarpa ), and beavertail cactus ( Opuntia basilaris ). Creosote bush has a wider range than its associates, so codominant shrubs, which are associated with more narrow ranges, will vary from region to region.

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<i>Larrea tridentata</i> Species of plant

Larrea tridentata, called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and gobernadora in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In Sonora, it is more commonly called hediondilla; Spanish hediondo = "smelly".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuahuan Desert</span> Largest desert in North America

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower Pecos Valley in New Mexico, and a portion of southeastern Arizona, as well as the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau. It is bordered on the west by the Sonoran Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, along with northwestern lowlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental range. Its largest, continual expanse is located in Mexico, covering a large portion of the state of Chihuahua, along with portions of Coahuila, north-eastern Durango, the extreme northern part of Zacatecas, and small western portions of Nuevo León. With an area of about 501,896 km2 (193,783 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in North America. The desert is fairly young, existing for only 8000 years.

<i>Salvia funerea</i> Species of shrub

Salvia funerea, is a species of semi-deciduous perennial shrub with the common names Death Valley sage, woolly sage, and funeral sage, is an intricately branched shrub associated with limestone soils in the Mojave Desert in California and Nevada. It is characterized by an overall white appearance due to wooly hairs that cover the stems and leaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence Mountains</span> Peaks in Mojave Desert, California

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The Clipper Mountains are located in the eastern Mojave Desert and protected within Mojave Trails National Monument, in San Bernardino County, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turtle Mountains (California)</span> Mountain range in California, United States

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The El Paso Mountains are located in the northern Mojave Desert, in central Southern California in the Western United States.

<i>Ambrosia dumosa</i> Species of flowering plant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">McCullough Range</span> Landform in Clark County, Nevada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence Mountains State Recreation Area</span> Recreation Area in California

The Providence Mountains State Recreation Area is located in the Providence Mountains, within the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, California. It is also home to the Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madrean Region</span> Floristic region in the Holarctic Kingdom

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<i>Lycium andersonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium andersonii is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its common names include water-jacket, redberry desert-thorn, Anderson thornbush, Anderson's desert thorn, Anderson boxthorn, Anderson lycium, Anderson wolfberry, and squawberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lower Colorado River Valley</span> Landform in Arizona and California

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clipper Mountain Wilderness</span> Wilderness area in California, United States

The Clipper Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Clipper Mountains of the eastern Mojave Desert and within Mojave Trails National Monument, located in northeastern San Bernardino County, California. It is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.

<i>Hilaria rigida</i> Species of grass

Hilaria rigida is a species of clumping perennial grass that is widespread in California deserts. It is commonly known as big galleta. It is a monocot in the Hilaria genus of the grass family (Poaceae).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meseta Central matorral</span> Xeric shrubland ecoregion in Mexico

The Meseta Central matorral is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in north-central Mexico.

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