Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville, better known as gobernadora around these parts, is truly a gift from God. In some areas of Mexico it is also known as hediondilla, guanis, and falsa alcaparra. Over in the western part of the US, where it also ranges, it is called creosote bush, and chaparral. The Papago people of Arizona call it grease wood. Regardless of what you call it, gobernadora is absolutely amazing.
Medicinally speaking, gobernadora is a shining star. It has antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, making it an effective treatment for athlete's foot and nail fungus. You can even dust your feet and shoes with it to control odor. It also makes a most effective mouthwash that is at least as good if not better than anything store bought.
The plant contains 18 distinct flavone and flavonol aglycones, a dihydroflavonol, larreic acid, two guaiuretic acid lignins including (most important) nordihydroguaiuretic acid (NDGA), and several quercitin bioflavonoids. NGDA content of the dried plant ranges from one to ten percent, and is found mainly in the sticky resin that coats the leaves. The stickier the leaves, the better the medicine.
NDGA is a potent antioxidant particularly for fats and oils. For this reason it may help by preventing the oxidation of lipids in the blood that form plaque on the arterial walls, which lead to heart disease. It also prevents or reverses the effects of free radical damage. NDGA also has analgesic and vasodepressant properties, plus a remarkable ability to stabilize vitamin A.
Ask any old-timer around here what the best herb for kidney stones is and the answer will probably be gobernadora. It actively dissolves the stones and acts as a diuretic to flush the system. Interestingly, an old common use of gobernadora in rural Mexico has been to clean out the calcium deposits in car and truck radiators, just like it cleans out the stones in kidneys.
Recently, I was talking with a gentleman in his mid-80s about medicinal plants. He told me a most fascinating story. It seems that when he was a young boy he enjoyed walking around the brush near his hometown of nearby Mirando City. One afternoon while he was walking about, he heard some strange cries and moaning sounds. He knew that he was alone out there, yet the sounds he was hearing were not from an animal. Cautiously he approached the area from where the sounds were coming. To his amazement, he happened upon a man who was kneeling before a gobernadora bush. With emotion and passion the man was thanking the bush for saving his life. The young boy went up to the man and asked what had happened. The man told the boy that he had been very ill, almost to death. In desperation the man had gone to consult with an old Indian woman who healed with yerbas. She told the man to start drinking gobernadora tea and sleep on a bed of its branches. Soon, the man fully recovered. The young boy never forgot that day out in the brush near Mirando City.
As with most herbs, a lot of information we have is based on traditional, historical, and anecdotal evidence. There is, quite often, a lack of scientific data to substantiate some traditional claims. This, however, does not necessarily discredit herbs as medicine. It only looks at herbs from a particular perspective.
One of the unique uses for gobernadora is to fight cancer. It is reported that there are individuals who have been healed, or otherwise been given more years to live, by having taken the herb as a medicine. Interestingly, clinical studies have shown properties in gobernadora that both inhibit and stimulate cancer cells.
Other uses for gobernadora include treating respiratory problems, arthritis and rheumatism, superficial skin wounds, intestinal discomfort, menstrual cramps, nausea, dandruff, anemia, headache, ulcers, hypertension, hemorrhoids, dry skin, brittle hair and nails, allergies, autoimmune diseases, PMS, as a douche, and more.
As any medicine, an important consideration is dosification. I have always advocated the use of gobernadora in tea form over capsule. This is because the herb is so bitter tasting that a person will not take too much for too long by accident. In capsule form there is no taste, so it is very easy to take more that one should. There is a documented case of a woman who took 15 capsules of 500 mg every day for five months and developed a liver condition. Through supportive care and abstaining from the herb, she recovered. You simply cannot take that much gobernadora! If a person is going to take the herb in capsule form, it is best to limit the amount to 1,000 mg or less per day. Periodically, I take 300 mg to 500 mg a day 90 days at a time. (The lady who became ill took 7,500 mg a day for five months.)
The traditional way to take gobernadora is in simple tea form. To prepare it, simmer 1/2 to one teaspoon (2,500 mg-5,000 mg) of the herb per eight ounces of water for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool and strain. This can be taken in two to three ounce servings two to three times per day. At this strength I do not recommend taking it for more than five to seven days in a row without taking a week break before resuming. Gente de rancho brew up a gallon of the tea with just a pinch of the herb which they drink all the time as a tonic. At this strength it is probably quite safe to drink on a continuous basis.

If you know what gobernadora looks like, you can pick your own out in the brush. If not, you can find it at any yerbería, some health food stores, and at local grocery stores on the herb and spice racks.