Glossopetalon

Glossopetalon is a small genus of shrubs in the plant family Crossosomataceae. These plants are sometimes called greasebushes. They are native to Mexico and the western United States, where they can be found on dry mountain slopes.

These are usually small shrubs, although Glossopetalon spinescens can reach up to three metres in favoured locations. They have thorny, tangling branches and white flowers with petals that are easily shed, giving them an untidy appearance. G. pungens is not thorny, and is a vertically prostrate subshrub which is usually found as a small tangled mat of stems hugging sheer cliffs.