Croton (plant)


Croton is an extensive plant genus in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The plants of this genus were described and introduced to Europeans by Georg Eberhard Rumphius. The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. The generic name comes from the Greek κρότος, which means "tick" and refers to the shape of the seeds of certain species.

Description

Croton is a diverse and complex taxonomic group of plants ranging from herbs and shrubs to trees. A well-known member of this genus is Croton tiglium, a shrub native to Southeast Asia. It was first mentioned in European literature by Cristóbal Acosta in 1578 as "lignum pavanae". The oil, used in herbal medicine as a violent purgative, is extracted from its seeds. Currently, it is considered unsafe and it is no longer listed in the pharmacopeia of many countries.

Taxonomy

Species

Sections

The sections and subsections of the genus Croton:
  1. sect. Cleodora Baill.?
  2. sect. Cyclostigma Griseb.
  3. # subsect. Cyclostigma Müll. Arg.
  4. # subsect. Sampatik G.L.Webster
  5. # subsect. Palanostigma Mart. ex Baill.
  6. sect. Klotzschiphytum Baill.
  7. sect. Eutropia Baill.
  8. sect. Luntia G.L. Webster
  9. # subsect. Cuneati G.L. Webster
  10. # subsect. Matourenses G.L. Webster
  11. sect Eluteria Griseb.
  12. sect. Croton
  13. sect. Ocalia Baill.
  14. sect. Corylocroton G.L.Webster
  15. sect. Anadenocroton G.L.Webster
  16. sect. Tiglium Baill.
  17. sect. Quadrilobus Müll. Arg.
  18. sect. Cascarilla Griseb.
  19. sect. Velamea Baill.
  20. sect. Andrichnia Baill.
  21. sect. Anisophyllum Baill.
  22. sect. Furcaria Boivin ex Baill.
  23. sect. Monguia Baill.
  24. sect. Decapetalon Müll. Arg.
  25. sect. Podostachys Baill.
  26. sect. Octolobium Chodat & Hassl.
  27. sect. Geiseleria Baill.
  28. sect. Pilinophyton A. Gray
  29. sect. Eremocarpus G.L.Webster
  30. sect. Gynamblosis A. Gray
  31. sect. Crotonopsis G.L.Webster
  32. sect. Argyrocroton G.L.Webster
  33. sect. Lamprocroton Pax
  34. sect. Julocroton G.L.Webster
  35. sect. Adenophyllum Griseb.
  36. sect. Barhamia Baill.
  37. sect. Decalobium Müll. Arg.
  38. sect. Micranthis Baill.
  39. sect. Medea Baill.
  40. sect. Lasiogyne Baill.
  41. sect. Argyroglossum Baill.
  42. sect. Astraeopsis Baill.
  43. sect. Codonacalyx Klotzsch ex Baill.
  44. sect. Astraea Baill.
  45. sect. Drepadenium Müll. Arg.

    Uses

Food uses

Cascarilla bark is used to flavour the liquors Campari and Vermouth.

Biofuel uses

In Kenya, Croton nuts, such as those from C. megalocarpus, were found to be a more economical source of biofuel than Jatropha curcas. Jatropha curcas requires as much as 20,000 litres of water to make a litre of biofuel, while Croton trees grow wild and yield about 35 percent oil. Croton trees are planted as a windbreak in Kenya, and their use as a source of biofuel may benefit rural economies there. As arable land is under population pressure, people have been cutting down the windbreaks to expand farmland. This new use may save the windbreaks, which should help fight desertification.

Ecology

Croton species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including Schinia citrinellus, which feeds exclusively on the plant.

Distribution

The genus is pantropical, with some species extending into temperate areas.
It is one of the largest and most complex genera of angiosperms in Madagascar, where up to 150 Croton species are endemic.

Formerly placed here

  • Acalypha chamaedrifolia Müll.Arg.
  • Astraea lobata Klotzsch
  • Caperonia palustris A.St.-Hil.
  • Chrozophora plicata A.Juss. ex Spreng.
  • Claoxylon indicum Hassk.
  • Codiaeum variegatum A.Juss.
  • Homalanthus nutans Guill.
  • Macaranga grandifolia Merr.
  • Mallotus japonicus Müll.Arg.
  • Mallotus philippensis Müll.Arg.
  • Mallotus repandus Müll.Arg.
  • Savia sessiliflora Willd.
  • Terminalia bentzoe L.f.
  • Triadica sebifera Small