View source for Turricula (plant genus)

{{for|the genus of gastropods|Turricula (animal genus)}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Turricula'' (plant genus)}}
{{Taxobox
|image = PoodleDogBush.jpg
|regnum = [[Plantae]]
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
|unranked_ordo = [[Asterids]]
|ordo = (unplaced)
|familia = [[Boraginaceae]]
|subfamilia = [[Hydrophylloideae]]
|genus = '''''Turricula'''''
|species = '''''Turricula parryi'''
|binomial = ''Turricula parryi''
|binomial_authority = ([[Asa Gray|A. Gray]]) J.F. Macbr.
|}}
The '''Poodle-dog bush''' or '''Common turricula''', ''Turricula parryi'', is the only species currently classified in the genus '''''Turricula''''', within the waterleaf subfamily, [[Hydrophylloideae]].  It is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[California]] and [[Baja California]], and can be found from the southern [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and [[San Joaquin Valley]] southwards to Baja California.  It is found in chaparral, on slopes and ridges from 100 to 2300 meters.  Its seeds can remain dormant in soil for long periods, with the plant springing up quickly when the soil is disturbed or where a wildfire has gone through.   It grows into a moderate size, perennial woody shrub, branching from the base but with main stems extending for up to 3 meters.  Is leaves are long and narrow, and may be toothed at the edge; they can be from 4 to 30&nbsp;cm long.  It flowers from June to August, having attractive bell-shaped blue, lavender or purple flowers.  However it has a rank smell.

When first described by [[Asa Gray]], the poodle-dog bush was placed within genus ''[[Eriodictyon]]''.  It was subsequently moved to a genus of its own, and [[molecular phylogenetic]] analysis carried out by Ferguson (1998) confirms that ''Turricula'' should be treated as a separate genus within a [[clade]] (Ferguson does not use the term "subfamily") that includes ''Eriodictyon'', and also the genera ''[[Nama]]''  and ''[[Wigandia]]''; ''Eriodictyon'' is the genus to which ''Turricula'' is closest in molecular terms, and is its [[sister taxon]].

Poodle-dog bush causes severe irritation if touched, akin to [[poison oak]] or [[stinging nettle]].  It can raise blisters that will last as long as two weeks.  This [[contact dermatitis]] is due to  [[prenylated]] [[phenolics]] exuded by glandular [[trichome]]s of the plant (Reynolds, Proksch & Rodriguez, 1985).  The principal irritants are derivatives of [[farnesol|farnesyl]] [[hydroquinone]].

Presumably because of its irritant properties, poodle-dog bush is rarely grown in gardens despite its attractive flowers; it is in any case difficult to grow in garden conditions.  Native Americans used it medicinally: Zigmond (1981, p.&nbsp;68) reports that the [[Kawaiisu]] people used an infusion of the leaves to relieve swellings or [[rheumatism]], and Sparkman (1908, p.&nbsp;230) also reports that the [[Luiseño]] people (who knew it as Atovikut) used it medicinally, though he does not specify for what purpose.  No tests of the efficacity of these uses have been reported.

==References==
*[http://www.jstor.org/stable/2419504 Ferguson, D. M. (1998)].  Phylogenetic analysis and relationships in Hydrophyllaceae based on ndhF sequence data.  ''Systematic Botany, 23'', 253-268.
*[http://www.thieme-connect.de/ejournals/abstract/plantamedica/doi/10.1055/s-2007-969573 Reynolds, G. W., Proksch, P. & Rodriguez, E. (1985)].  Prenylated phenolics that cause contact dermatitis from glandular trichomes of ''Turricula parryi''. ''Planta Medica, 51'', 494-498.
*[http://sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/coli/index.htm Sparkman, P. S. (1908)]. The culture of the Luiseno Indians. ''University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, 8''(4), 187-234.
*Zigmond, M. L. (1981) ''Kawaiisu ethnobotany''. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.

==External links==
*[http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-genre=Plant&where-taxon=Turricula+parryi Photos of poodle-dog bush] on the CalPhotos site
*[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?4518,4722,4723 Jepson manual treatment] of the species
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=TUPA2 USDA PLANTS database] entry for the species
*[http://www.ocregister.com/articles/oldar-flower-bush-2001799-people-fire Article about stinging properties of the bush] from the [[Orange County Register]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turricula (Plant Genus)}}
[[Category:Hydrophylloideae]]
[[Category:Flora of California]]
[[Category:Flora of Baja California]]
[[Category:Monotypic plant genera]]
[[Category:Poisonous plants]]
[[Category:2Fix]]