Poisonous Purple Flowers - Poodle Brush

[SenD-n-SpiN]

The pretty bushes with purple flowers are called poodle dog bush and are similar to poison  oak.

Be careful, spread the word.

http://www.venturacountytrails.org/News/0213-PoodleDogBush/NewsPage.htm

[ChattyCathy]

These look like the flowers I noticed on Wright Mountain Rd. and I thought how nice they'd look in my yard.  Good thing I just drove by!

[SenD-n-SpiN]

Yup, that's exactly where we noticed them. My wife had plans to go pick them for a table center piece.

[Toolman]

Thanks for posting this, I was wondering myself what it was.

The entire burn area of the Station Fire is loaded with the stuff.

[cedar]

Poodle dog is a fire follower.  There were lots on the north side of the ridge after that fire came up from Pinyon Hills.

They need a fire to germinate in mass.  Those seeds can wait a really long time for the right conditions.

From Wikipedia - Like many species in the forget-me-not family, Poodle-dog bush causes severe irritation if touched, akin to poison oak or stinging nettle. It can raise blisters lasting as long as two weeks. This contact dermatitis is due to prenylated phenolics exuded by hairs (glandular trichomes) of the plant[2]. The principal irritants are derivatives of farnesyl hydroquinone and 3-farnesyl-P-hydroxybenzoic acid.

[luvroses]

I've also noticed a lot of blooming Jimson Weed (Datura Stramonium, aka Loco Weed) in Lone Pine Canyon, the last couple of weeks. That's another one that's best left alone! 

[snwbnny]

This was just posted on the PCT email list - fiured I'd pass along how bad these flowers can be.

Last week hiked through San Gabriel Mountains up over Mt Gleason to AguaDulce. The burned out mountainsides & PCT is covered with these beautiful purple flowers that grow 6 to 8 ft tall. They are all over the trail. Wewalked through 20+ miles of them with their resin stuck all over me from topto bottom. My hiking poles were black from the resin.

Finally I came across a PCT trail maintenance crew witch told me that thepurple flowers were Poodle Dog Bush and not to get it on my skin because itcauses a poison oak/ivy type of reaction. Yikes.!!!!!!

I have spent the last nine days suffering. I have been on IM steroids aswell as a tapering dose of oral steroids. My left hand & arm still itches,has pitting edema, still with vesicles breaking out. It bothers me to wearsocks & shoes. Hopefully this resolves in the next week because I haveanother section to do. So be very careful hiking the burn areas because the fires activate theseeds of the Poodle Dog Bush. Wear long pants & long sleeves with gloves.I was wearing shorts & short sleeve shirt. :-((((

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turricula_(plant)

Stay away from this plant. I still have not yet been able to sleep thru thenight with the itching.
Doug Prosser

[in my dreams]

Oh how awful!!!!!

[ChattyCathy]

If anyone wants to see what they look like, drive down Wright Mountain Road.  They are all over the place and you can't miss them.

[TXnWW]

These plants are all over the hillsides of the burned out areas by Mt Wilson and to the East along Hwy 2. I took some pics of my girlfriend in the middle of them Sunday ... yikes !
just saw this and won't go near them again, thanks for the info

[Wrightwood]

Here's an article that was sent

[sage]

We also drove Hwy. 2 through there last week and really enjoyed seeing all the flowers blooming. I thought how nice it would be to have been able to get some seeds and have that beautiful pink flower growing at my own house. So thanks so much for the update on the Poodle Brush. I'm very, very thankful I just enjoyed their beauty from afar...

[Chesslike]

[Jilly]

Has anyone else had an encounter with this plant?  It is prevalent on the section of the PCT heading up Lone Pine Canyon.  My husband and I just hiked there two weeks ago, and had no idea what it was, or that it was dangerous in any way until we reached a note that someone had left on the trail warning us about it.  Unfortunately we were hiking down instead of up and had already hiked through patches of it.  About 10 days later I started getting a horrible, burning poison-oak type rash that I have had for a full week and it is still going strong.  It sounds very much like the results of contact with the plant, except it is interesting that it didn't come on until 10 days after hike.  Any one have any information on this?  I did find a PCT hiker blog that said that they had run into a Ranger who told them it could anywhere from 2 hours to 10 days to have the rash, but I can't find any other information online to support this.  Just wondering if anyone else has an experience with this.

[SkierBob]

I've seen this odd looking plant growing in the Station fire burn area.  Sure am glad I never touched it! 


http://www.pcta.org/2013/poodle-dog-bush-warning-8891/

Poodle-Dog Bush, Eriodictyon parryi, is common in parts of Southern California. Touching it can cause a significant allergic reaction.

This pretty purple flowered plant has been rearing its ugly head in the San Gabriel Mountains. Reports from the PCT are that the plant is widespread and sometimes unavoidable in the Station Fire and other burn areas. Turricula is a fire follower that thrives in disturbed soils. It does especially well along the PCT.

Various reports from 2012 hikers have bad Poodle-Dog Bush on the PCT starting around either mile 419 or 421 or 425 and extending through Messenger Flat at mile 430.6. To avoid Poodle-Dog Bush, some hikers are detouring off the PCT either at the Mill Creek Ranger Station [mile 418.8] or Mount Gleason Rd [mile 421.4] or the dirt road at mile 425.1 [follow the dirt road 4/10 mile S to Mount Gleason Rd] and then following Mount Gleason Rd to Messenger Flat.

Touching the plant can cause anything from a mild rash and blistering to severe respiratory distress. It is a contact dermatitis and can be transmitted in the same way that poison oak is transmitted. For many people, symptoms are worse than a reaction to poison oak. Symptoms generally appear hours or days after touching the plant. All contact should be avoided.

Unfortunately, long sleeves and pants do not fully protect travelers. You may contaminate yourself by touching clothing that has been in contact with the plant. Regardless, it is recommended that you wear long sleeves while traveling through the area.

Poodle-Dog Bush has a rank, pungent smell. Endemic to the region, Poodle Bush is in the

Hydrophyllaceae family. Many trail users would be familiar with related plants such at Yerba Santa, Eriodictyon sp., and Phacelia.

[baseballfan]

On the slope off the 210 west in Upland area, there are some breathtaking purple plants (groundcover) that I want to know more about.  Does anyone know what they are? I'd really appreciate any info on them! 

[TimG]

I think Poodle-dog bush?  Don't go picking any!
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/24/local/la-me-poodle-dog-bush-20110724

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turricula_%28plant%29

[baseballfan]

Well, it's actually more magenta than purple.  Like a bouganvillia.  But thanks for the heads up on the poodle bush!   

[lagomorphmom]

No poodle bush on the 210.

Do you mean the "ice plant" succulents they use as ground cover?

[YardBird]

Baseballfan,

If it's what I think it is, do an image search for "Grecian Windflowers".  Beautiful colors, solid and varigated.  They're used a lot on the freeway ramps.