A Desert Star: Guayule

swnewsherald (Chicago) Everybody's Science
By SANDY MILLER HAYS, Agricultural Research Service

It's odd how the mind works, isn't it? A particular scent will take us back in time to something that happened decades ago, and a simple turn of phrase can instantly bring back the lyrics of a song from high school.

That's probably why, every time I hear the word "guayule" (pronounced "why-YOU-lee"), I automatically think, "Why not?" Because if there's any plant that seems less promising on the surface, but actually has amazing potential, I'd be hard-pressed to name it.

If you stumbled across guayule in the desert and confused it with sagebrush, that would be totally understandable, because the two plants look a little alike. Guayule has silvery, grayish-green leaves and yellow flowers, and blends right into its native territory of the Chichuahuan Desert of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.

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