Croton setiger

Croton setigerus is used as an ornamental plant; its low and rounded form fills a pot.

The foliage is toxic to animals, and the crushed plants, called shä'um by the Pomo 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.[3] When crushed, the leaves have a sweet odor that some find unpleasant.

Chesnut reported that the Konkow (Maidu) 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.[3]

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"),[3] one of a number of plants called by that name.

Despite the plant's toxicity to some species, the seeds are eaten by birds.[7] Several of the common names of the plant come from the affinity of doves and wild turkeys for the seeds.