Croton californicus – “California Croton”

Also Known As: Desert Croton, El Barbasco
Family: Spurge (Euphorbiaceae)
Bloom Period: Apr-Jul
Form: Perennial herb
Habitat: Washes, sandy places, and grazed areas
Leaves: Elliptic to linearly oblong; alternate
Translation: “Croton” is Greek for “tick” and refers to the appearance of the seeds of some plants in this genus; “californicus” means “Californian.”;
Notes: The Spanish name, El Barbasco, refers to a poisonous herb used by fishermen to knock out fish. The flowers have no petals so, conventionally speaking, don’t really look like flowers, but there they are, at the tips of the branches. The main photo shows female flowers and the inset show the males. It is usually dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are on separate plants. According to MacKay, however, up to 18% of some populations have both male and female flowers, and, intriguingly, a plant can change its gender at any time. A pain-relieving salve has been made with the dried leaves mixed with tallow. The plant is poisonous to cattle so thrives in grazed areas.
Native American Uses: The Cahuilla drank a hot decoction for congestion from colds. They put a warm decoction of the mashed stems and leaves directly into the ears of children with earaches. The Kumeyaay took a decoction for coughs and the Luiseño used the plant to induce abortion. Other Native Americans treated rheumatism with a poultice of the heated leaves.
Animal Associations: Host plant for Schinia citrinellus moth.