croton

/kroht"n/, n.

1. any of numerous chiefly tropical plants constituting the genus Croton, of the spurge family, several species of which, as C. tiglium, have important medicinal properties.

2. (among florists) any plant of the related genus Codiaeum (or Phyllaurea) cultivated for its ornamental foliage.

[1745-55; < NL < Gk krotón a tick, also the castor-oil plant, which has berries likened to ticks]

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Colourful-leaved plant (Codiaeum variegatum) of the spurge family.

Native to Malaysia and Pacific islands, it is popular as a houseplant. Its numerous varieties grow as shrubs or small trees with brilliant, glossy, leathery leaves that can be solid in colour or occur in combinations of green, yellow, white, orange, pink, red, crimson, and purple. Another plant of the same family but of a different genus is purging croton (Croton tiglium), a small tree native to Southeast Asia with seeds that yield croton oil.

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▪ plant species

also called  Variegated Laurel 

 (Codiaeum variegatum), colourful-leaved plant of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Its numerous varieties of shrubs or small trees with brilliantly coloured, glossy, leathery leaves are much grown as potted plants. Native to Malaysia and the Pacific, the trees reach a height of about 6 m (20 feet). Leaf colours, mostly resulting from anthocyanin in the leaf, occur solid or in combinations of green, yellow, white, orange, pink, red, crimson, and purple. The 10–15-centimetre (4–6-inch) leaves vary from linear and lance-shaped to oval and lobed, depending upon the variety.

      Another plant of the same family, but of a different genus, the true croton, is purging croton (Croton tiglium), a small tree from the seeds of which croton oil is extracted. It is native to Southeast Asia.

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