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Trail Runners Describe Reactions to Poodle-dog Bush

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Turricula (Poodle-dog bush) along the Valley Forge Trail. July 16, 2011

In a real-world test of Poodle-dog bush* exposure, during a recent training run at Mt. Wilson, approximately 30 runners ran a mile-plus section of trail overgrown with the plant. Reactions varied from none at all, to at least one runner who had a strong reaction similar to my first bout with Poodle-dog bush several weeks ago.

Here are some runner comments:

“I can’t believe it, but I had very little reaction. Just a few little bumps. You saw how careful I was trying to be. Maybe not man-handling it helps.”

“Not much sleep for the last two days…arms, legs, and abdomen burn way worse than Poison Oak. By nightfall the blisters break and ooze.”

“I finally had a mild reaction today, red rashes that turned into very small blisters…”

“Absolutely nothing happened, I’m either not allergic to it, or the soap & brush took the top layers of skin off and the poison with it.”

“I’ve got the stuff in my left eyelid (I must have rubbed my eye after hand contact with T. while carefully trying to part it as I inched my way down VF); I’ve got it on my stomach at waist band and lower, and I’m waiting for my legs, although I may get lucky there.”

Since I’d had a strong reaction before, I expected the worst. Fortunately, my reaction was relatively minor. Like several other runners, I had a same-day irritation/inflammation along the waistband of my running shorts. In addition, the top of one ankle and a small area on the inside of one arm developed a very mild rash. It was barely noticeable and cleared up completely in about five days.

There are several possible reasons I didn’t have a strong reaction this time. Even though contact was unavoidable, I walked in areas where the Poodle-dog bush was the densest, and I attempted to avoid the plant as much as possible. This time around my legs and arms were not covered with the sticky goo from the plant. Even so, as soon as I was out of the area with Poodle-dog bush, I stopped at a creek and washed off my legs and arms. I also washed again at the end of the run.

Another reason I might have reacted differently is the age of the plants. As Poodle-dog bush matures, the lower leaves wither and fall. (This gives the plant the appearance of the groomed tail of a poodle.) There’s anecdotal evidence that as the plant dries out the almost microscopic hairs that cover the leaves, stems and flowers are easily broken and shed, and can contribute to the irritation/inflammation the plant causes. It seems plausible that these hairs could be an irritant, or might even act like a minuscule time-release capsule of the plant’s active compounds.

Note: The trail was the Valley Forge Trail. Trail work is scheduled on this trail the next two weekends.

*The taxonomic name for Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog bush) has changed to Eriodictyon parryi. The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, Second Edition (2012) has returned Turricula to the genus Eriodictyon, as originally described by Gray. According to the Wikipedia entry for Turricula (April 11, 2012), “… 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.” I use “Turricula” and “Poodle-dog bush” interchangeably as a common name.

Some related posts: Contact Dermatitis from Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog Bush), Getting Over Poodle-dog Bush Dermatitis, Poodle-dog Bush Along the PCT Near Islip Saddle

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Getting Over Poodle-dog Bush Dermatitis

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Poodle-dog bush along Angeles Crest Highway, July 30, 2011.
Poodle-dog bush along Angeles Crest Highway

It’s been several weeks now since my bout of contact dermatitis from Poodle-dog bush*. The dermatitis was much better after a week, but took about two weeks to completely go away. I’ve heard this is typical, and several people commented that their Poodle-dog bush experience was similar to mine.

Update July 12, 2011. A running friend who recently did some trail work removing Poodle-dog bush on the Kenyon Devore Trail sent this photograph of a blotchy red rash that developed on his forearm. He first noticed a reaction four days after doing the trail work, and the photograph was taken 10 days after exposure. As in my case, several hours later he commented that the blotchy rash had merged into a more general inflammation with swelling.

Flowers of Poodle-dog bush, a plant that causes contact dermatitis in many people.
Flowers of Poodle-dog bush

The other day I was asked if I’d rather have dermatitis from poison oak or Poodle-dog bush. The reactions are so different, they are hard to compare. Plus, my exposure to Poodle-dog bush was probably a worst case scenario. It was as if the goo from the plant was painted on my arms and legs with a brush, and left to cure. I’m guessing that an equivalent exposure to poison oak would have been much, much worse.  The reaction to Poodle-dog bush seems to vary quite a lot from person to person, and some people have been severely affected.

I was a little worried that the extreme exposure to Poodle-dog bush might make me hypersensitive to the plant, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. About a week after recovering from the dermatitis, I did some trailwork with a group that cleared a section of overgrown trail in Shortcut Canyon. Not only was there Poodle-dog bush, but poison oak and stinging nettle as well. With normal precautions — long pants, long sleeves & gloves — I didn’t have a problem.

As long as you don’t have to wade through it, the oceans of violet flowered Poodle-dog bush in the Station Fire burn area are striking. I’ve heard Poodle-dog bush described as an invasive plant. While it is an unbelievably prolific fire-follower that seems to invade an area after a fire, it is a native California plant. Given just how prevalent it is after a fire, it probably plays a key role in the recovery process, perhaps helping to restore the chemical balance of the soil, as well as providing mulch.

*The taxonomic name for Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog bush) has changed to Eriodictyon parryi. The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, Second Edition (2012) has returned Turricula to the genus Eriodictyon, as originally described by Gray. According to the Wikipedia entry for Turricula (April 11, 2012), “… 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.” I use “Turricula” and “Poodle-dog bush” interchangeably as a common name.

Related post: After the Station Fire: Contact Dermatitis from Turricula parryi – Poodle-dog Bush and these additional posts.

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Phantom Trail: Trade-offs of a Wet Rainy Season

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View west toward Boney Mountain from the Phantom Trail

View West Toward Boney Mountain from the Phantom Trail

Following last weekend’s Holcomb Valley 33 and yesterday’s trail work, today I was looking to do something moderate. Without thinking too much about the condition of the Phantom Trail when I was on it a month ago, I decided to do the Phantom loop in Malibu Creek State Park. The eight mile loop is normally a favorite recovery run. The 1000′ of elevation gain/loss is kind to tired legs, and the loop has varied terrain and great scenery.



The first five miles (Cistern, Lookout, Cage Creek, Crags Rd., Grassland and Liberty Canyon trails) are in decent shape, but portions of the Phantom Trail are really overgrown. The growth of the noxious invasive plant milk thistle in the Liberty Canyon area is the worst I’ve seen in years. At one point near Liberty Canyon the spiraling winds of a strong thermal picked up a countless number of the thistle’s plumed seeds and carried them to who-knows-where!



The middle section of the Phantom Trail climbs up a shaded side canyon to a prominent ridge line. It isn’t as overgrown. There is some very healthy poison oak that is sometimes difficult to avoid, but it’s a pretty section of trail with a lot of green and a variety of wildflowers.

Once up on the ridge and for about the last 1.5 miles of the loop, the issue isn’t with an noxious invasive, but with the native plant deerweed. It’s so thick and brushy it’s often difficult to see the trail — or your footfalls, or ruts or rocks, or anything else on the trail.

While I wouldn’t recommend this loop right now as a trail run, it was interesting to see (once again) how our wet rainy season has affected this area.

Some related posts: Invasive Thistle on the Phantom Trail, Milk Thistle Seed Heads

nature, nature|wildfire, photography, running, trails, trails|san gabriels

After the Station Fire: Silver Moccasin Trail Work

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Trail work on the Silver Moccasin Trail in Shortcut Canyon

If you have fond memories of the rustic running in Shortcut Canyon during last year’s Mt. Disappointment 50K, hold on to those memories because this year you’re going to be running on a bona fide, genuine trail.

Under the direction of trail maintenance guru Gary Hilliard, R.D. of the Angeles National Forest Trail Race (formerly Mt. Disappointment), 19 hard-working volunteers closed the final gap in this badly overgrown and damaged section of the Silver Moccasin Trail. Burned in the 2009 Station Fire, floods ravaged the canyon, and then soil conditions and above average rainfall combined to produce teeming plant growth.

Volunteers recovered most of the original trail, removing fallen limbs and trees, clearing overgrowth and debris, and restoring sections damaged by erosion and flooding. Large patches of stinging nettle, and some turricula (Poodle-dog bush) and poison oak were also removed from the trail.

See the  trail work schedule on the Angeles National Forest Trail Race web site for the remaining trail work dates.

Here are a few additional photographs:



Road Maintenance



Mt Disappointment 50K Volunteers



Turricula Along Restored Trail


Silver Moccasin Trail



Done for the Day



Tools of the Trade

Related post: Trail Work and Tree Rings

nature, nature|wildlife, photography, photography|wildlife, running, running|adventures

Coyote Tag

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coyote that ran with me

I was deep in thought, but have no idea what those thoughts might have been. It was at that point in a run when miles, and thoughts, flow freely. The afternoon was warm and calm and the settling sun cast a golden hue on the blond, oak-studded hills. My footfalls ticked out a steady rhythm on the dirt road, and my mind was at ease.

My reverie was suddenly broken by the realization that a coyote was running with me. Not running yards in the distance, or in the brush off to the side, but five or six feet in front of me, as if restrained by an invisible lead!

It must have come from the tall grass along the margin of the road, but from my daydream-warped perspective had just suddenly appeared. I’m surprised I didn’t stumble or start. But there was no hint of aggression or malice — just a mischievous glance backward to see how I was going to react.

I didn’t. I’ve had numerous encounters with coyotes, but this went so far beyond my other experiences, I didn’t know how to react.

For more than 50 yards the coyote ran with me, keeping pace in lead along the deserted dirt road.

At some point I started to try and retrieve my camera from the small pack on my waist. The out of synch movement disturbed the delicate balance of this improbable scene, and I could see the change in the animal’s demeanor.

Before disappearing into the cover, the coyote looked back a final time, and in so many words seemed to be saying “gotcha, you’re it!”

(From a run Tuesday at Ahmanson Ranch, now Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve.)

Some related posts:
– Trickster
– Coyote Tag II

nature, nature|botany, nature|wildfire, nature|wildflowers, photography, photography|wildflowers, trails, trails|san gabriels

After the Station Fire: Phacelia Near Three Points

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Various species of Phacelia are fire-followers and have bloomed in profusion in areas burned by the Station Fire. These are Davidson’s Phacelia (Phacelia davidsonii) along the Three Points – Mt. Waterman Trail about a mile from Three Points.



Like Turricula (Poodle-dog bush)*, many species of Phacelia can cause a contact dermatitis similar to poison oak. Generally, any Phacelia should be considered suspect, and especially those that are fuzzy and sticky.

One Phacelia that has been shown to elicit a reaction is California bluebell (Phacelia minor) — a relatively common wildflower in the middle to lower elevation areas burned by the Station Fire. In one study, it was found that the amount of two active compounds in Phacelia minor required to produce a qualified reaction was 6.3 µg and 3.8 µg; compared to 170 µg for Turricula and 1.6 µg for a component of urushiol from poison ivy.

*The taxonomic name for Turricula parryi (Poodle-dog bush) has changed to Eriodictyon parryi. The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, Second Edition (2012) has returned Turricula to the genus Eriodictyon, as originally described by Gray. According to the Wikipedia entry for Turricula (April 11, 2012), “… 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.” I use “Turricula” and “Poodle-dog bush” interchangeably as a common name.

Related post: After the Station Fire: Contact Dermatitis from Turricula parryi – Poodle-dog Bush