''Croton setiger'' is a species of plant known in English as turkey mullein, dove weed, and fish locoweed. (Not to be confused with '' Murdannia nudiflora'', which is often called doveweed.) It is native to most of the western United States and northwest Mexico. It has naturalized elsewhere, including parts of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is sometimes spelled ''Croton setigerus'' and was formerly known as ''Eremocarpus setigerus''. This is a squat plant with furry, feltlike, hexagon shaped leaves, pale pink green in color. The small green flowers are covered in soft bristles.

Cultivation and Uses

''Croton setigerus'' is used as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

; its low and rounded form fills a pot. The foliage is toxic to animals, and the crushed plants, called ''shä'um'' by the

Pomo The Pomo are a Indigenous peoples of California, Native American people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to ...

people and ''kē-chil' wä-ē-mök by the Yuki people, were used by both Native Americans and later immigrants as a fish toxin to stupefy fish and make them easy to catch. When crushed, the leaves have a sweet odor that some find unpleasant. Chesnut reported that the Konkow (

Maidu The Maidu are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of northern California. They reside in the central Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada, in the watershed area of the Feather River, Feather and American River, American ...

) people of northeastern Central California use the plant extensively for medicinal purposes in addition to its use as a fish toxin. He also noted that the seeds are such a potent attractant for doves that Native Americans would take advantage of concentrations of "dove weed" to lure and catch doves in large numbers. The use as a fish toxin was known to early Spanish settlers of the American Southwest, who sometimes called it ''yerba del pescado'' ("fishing herb"), one of a number of plants called by that name. Despite the plant's toxicity to some species, the seeds are eaten by birds. Several of the common names of the plant come from the affinity of

doves Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

and

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

s for the seeds.

References

setiger Flora of Northern America Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Bird food plants {{euphorb-stub