After a crisp dawn in the high-desert air of the San Luis Valley, the little golden-flowered shrub that most would pass by as “just another roadside weed” keeps a quiet vigil. It stands on dry slopes, in gravelly soils, on the fringes of pinyon-juniper and sagebrush, small yet resolute. In that unassuming form lives a surprising potency: the plant we call broom snakeweed, or escoba de la víbora.
I first came across Escoba de la Víbora in Michael Moore’s Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. He regarded it as such a vital desert remedy that he coined what he called “Moore’s Law of Escoba” — meaning no matter how much he harvested, he could never gather enough to meet the winter demand of his clients.
At the apothecary, we’ve come to hold this plant in high regard. It’s the very foundation of one of our top-selling products, our SnakeTree Liniment, favored by customers coming to us again and again for relief and refill.
Botanical Name: Gutierrezia sarothrae (Asteraceae) — also called broom snakeweed, broomweed, matchweed.
-A perennial subshrub typically 6 cm to 90 cm tall depending on conditions.
-Stems arise from a woody base, many erect slender branches, often dying back to give the appearance of a broom (“broomweed”)—hence the common name.
-Leaves are linear, 2-7 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, with rough texture and resinous glands.
-Flowers: dense clusters of small yellow flower-heads from mid-summer through early fall.
-Habitat: thrives in arid to semi-arid landscapes — dry plains, upland sites, shallow, well-drained soils in the high desert and foothill zones. In the San Luis Valley and surrounding high-desert regions, you’ll find it on the margins of sagebrush flats, along dusty road cuts, on gravely slopes where other plants thin out. It endures where the world is lean—and in that lean environment it carries a stern kind of vitality.
Though often written off by rangeland managers as a “weed,” broom snakeweed plays a quiet ecological part: resistant to drought, adapted to poor soils, it stabilizes ground, contributes to seed-banks, and persists where others falter.
At the same time, its abundance often signals land stress or over-grazing.
Across Indigenous traditions of the American Southwest and the Great Plains, broom snakeweed appears again and again as medicine, omen, and companion.
In short: this plant that many overlook in the dry roadside is deeply embedded in herbal culture—especially where weather and soil are harsh, and the plants that survive must be dialled into survival, adaptation, resilience.
What gives this plant its medicinal muscle? While research is still emerging, several constituent classes and actions stand out:
Key Constituents:
Actions & Traditional/Herbal Uses (external emphasis):
–Anti-inflammatory / analgesic: Traditional use for rheumatism, muscle & joint pains. According to one botanical summary: “Being broadly anti-inflammatory and especially sedative to muscular–skeletal pain, it will be found particularly helpful to sufferers of ‘fibromyalgia’.”
–Topical soothing / liniment use: For aches, bruises, snake-bite, insect stings.
–External or steam use for respiratory or general cleansing: Roots in steam baths, leaves in sweats or infusions.
–Note & caution: The plant can be toxic if ingested in large quantities (for livestock especially) and is considered a weed in rangelands.
Herbalist’s Lens:
Working with broom snakeweed invites the recognition of a plant that is hardy, resinous, slightly “untamed.” Its aromatic profile carries camphorous, piney, slightly bitter notes. Energetically, it supports the joints and backbone of the body—the foundation where movement and structure meet resilience. In the high-desert milieu where resources are lean, the plant’s chemistry reflects survival: anti-inflammatory terpenes, flavonoids, resins—not gentle but effective.
We honor the wisdom of broom snakeweed in two principal applications within our line:
Herbal Bath Salts: We include finely dried aerial parts of the plant (flowering stems, leaves) in our deep tissue relief/relaxation support herbal bath salts. The warm soak allows the resinous aromatic oils to work via skin and inhalation, offering joint-ease and a settling of the nervous system after a day of strain.
SnakeTree Liniment: The star usage. We extract the plant in a blend of high-proof alcohol plus witch hazel, capturing both lipophilic and hydrophilic constituents. This extract becomes the active base for our liniment targeted toward arthritis and joint pain. Customer feedback consistently notes the warming, penetrating relief and return visits for larger sizes confirm its efficacy.
In both cases, we source respectfully: harvest sustainable amounts from wild stands at peak potency, ensure proper drying, and execute accurate solvent ratios for extraction. Our formulation remains topical, external only; consistent with GMP and regulatory compliance.
Late summer / early fall (when yellow blooms are visible) is prime harvesting time—resin and volatile oil content are highest.
Energetically, this is a plant of the margins, of borders: where desert meets foothill, where dry soil gives way to scrub, where plant-communities stretch for root and water. It invites us into that edge‐space: the edge of movement, of joints, of transition.
In ritual or contemplative herbal work: broom snakeweed may be called upon for structural integrity—the body’s framework, the skeleton of the desert, unbending yet tuned to harsh light and wind.
So next time you glimpse that modest yellow-flowered broom-shaped shrub lining a dusty road or clinging to a sun-baked slope, pause. This plant has earned its place. In its modesty it offers strength; in its austerity it offers relief. In the scent of resin and desert air it whispers: the body holds structure, the desert holds memory — and both can soften, support, renew.
Utah Valley University. “Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae).” Utah Native Plants at Capitol Reef Field Station. Accessed 2025. https://www.uvu.edu/crfs/native-plants/gutierrezia-sarothrae.html?
United States Department of Agriculture, NRCS. Plant Guide: Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae Pursh). National Plant Data Center, 30 May 2002. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/cs_gusa2.pdf
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. “Gutierrezia sarothrae (Broom Snakeweed).” Accessed 2025.https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=gusa2&
New Mexico State University. B815: Broom Snakeweed – Botanical and Land-Use Considerations. Accessed 2025. https://pubs.nmsu.edu/_b/B815
Su, Q., Dalal, S., Goetz, M., Cassera, M.B., & Kingston, D.G.I. “New Antiplasmodial Diterpenes from Gutierrezia sarothrae (Asteraceae).” Natural Product Communications, 11(6): 719-721 (2016).https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306059421_New_Antiplasmodial_Diterpenes_from_Gutierrezia_Sarothrae
Tucson Clinic of Botanical Medicine. “Gutierrezia sarothrae | Broom Snakeweed | Medicinal Uses.” Medivetus. Accessed 2025. https://medivetus.com/botanic/gutierrezia-sarothrae-broom-snakeweed-medicinal-uses/
Eldorado Windy Farm. “Ethnobotany of Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae).” Accessed 2025. https://www.eldoradowindyfarm.com/SFBG-ethnobroomsnakeweed.html
Lewis & Clark Expedition Center. “Plant Signs: Snakeweed.” Accessed 2025. https://lewisandclark.org/plant-signs/snakeweed.html
United States Forest Service. “Fire Effects Information System (FEIS): Gutierrezia sarothrae.” Accessed 2025. https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/gutmic/all.html