Turpentine Broom

• Plant Type: Slow-growing, woody, perennial shrub.
• Common Names: Turpentine Broom, Mojave Desert-rue, Cordoncillo.
• Color: Purple
• Flowering Seasons/Months: Early spring (March and April).
• Deserts with Turpentine Broom: Deserts of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, Mojave, and Sonoran.

Turpentine Broom is a shrub of the family Rutaceae. This species is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico deserts.

• It is an upright plant that can grow to 2 feet. The stems of the Turpentine Broom are with resin glands.
• The Turpentine Broom is often bare, without leaves. They are small and wither quickly.
• The leaves of the Turpentine Broom are light-green and deciduous. These leaves appear with the flowers, but the leaves fall when the soil dries up.
• The flowers of the Turpentine Broom are small in the intervals along the plant’s stem.
• The petals have visible resin glands. The corollaWhat is corolla?A collective term referring to the petals of a flower. of the Turpentine Broom is funnelform or urceolate.

• Thamnosma montana is called the Turpentine Broom^[1] because the stem quickly losses its leaves, making it look like a broom.
• The Latin “montana” denotes mountains or from the mountains.
• Many Native American^[2] groups used Thamnosma Montanaas medicine, pest control, or a ceremonial drug.
• When rubbed, the resin glands on Thamnosma montana flowers produce a strong “turpentine” aroma. Hence the name.
• The caterpillars of the black swallowtail^[3] (Papilio polyxenes coloro) eat only the turpentine broom. The black swallowtail butterfly can distinguish the turpentine broom from other plants by tapping the stems and the leaves with their feet.