Description

Brief into about the Croton Plant

The best known member of this genus is probably Croton tiglium, commonly called croton, a tree or shrub native to Southeast Asia. It was first mentioned in European literature by Cristóbal Acosta in 1578 as lignum pavanae. Croton oil, used in herbal medicine as a violent purgative, is extracted from its seeds. Nowadays, it is considered unsafe and it is no longer listed in the pharmacopeias of many countries.

Uses

Traditional uses

Croton oil has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat severe constipation, heal lesions, and is used as a purgative.[citation needed] It is a source of the organic compound phorbol and its tumor-promoting esters such as 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. In the Amazon the red latex from the species Croton lechleri, known as Sangre de Drago (Dragon’s blood), is used as a “liquid bandage”, as well as for other medicinal purposes, by native peoples.[3]

Food uses

Cascarilla (C. eluteria) bark is used to flavour the liqueurs Campari and Vermouth.[4]

Biofuel uses

It has recently been shown in Kenya that Croton nuts, such as those from C. megalocarpus,[5] are a more economical source of biofuel than Jatropha. In Kenya, Jatropha requires as much as 20,000 litres of water to make a litre of biofuel, while Croton trees grow wild and yield about .35 litres of oil per kilo of nuts. Croton trees are planted as a windbreak in Kenya and its 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.