arrea tridentata is a medium-sized branchy shrub with evergreen dark green leaves. The resinous leaves are compound and opposite, with two leaflets attached to each other at the base. The flowers are shiny yellow with five petals. The fruit is a capsule densely covered in white hairs. Galls may form by the activity of the creosote gall midge.
As the creosote bush grows older, its oldest branches eventually die and its crown splits into separate crowns.