Croton tiglium L.

Purging croton (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Malpighiales > Euphorbiaceae > Croton

Characteristics

Treelets up to 7 m tall; indumentum of stellate hairs; young branches green, sparsely stellate-hairy, glabrous at maturity. Stipules subulate, 1.5-4 mm, caducous; petiole 2.5-6 cm, subglabrous; leaf blade ovate, ovate-elliptic, or ovate-lanceolate, 5-15 × 2-7 cm, papery, glabrous or glabrescent, yellowish to brownish when dry, base cuneate or broadly so, rounded, rarely slightly cordate, with discoid glands, margins serrulate or subentire, apex acute or acuminate, sometimes long acuminate or caudate-acuminate; basal veins 3(-5), lateral veins 3 or 4. Racemes terminal, 8-20 cm; bracts subulate, ca. 2 mm. Male flowers: bud subglobose, sparsely stellate-hairy or glabrescent. Female flowers: sepals oblong-lanceolate, ca. 2.5 mm, glabrescent; ovary densely stellate-hairy; styles bipartite. Capsules ellipsoidal, oblong-ovoid, or subglobose, 1-2 × 1-2 cm, sparsely stellate-hairy or glabrescent. Seeds elliptic or oblong-ovate, 8-12 × 6-7 mm, gray-brown. Fl. Jan-Jul, fr. May-Sep.
More
A small tree. It grows 7 m tall. The leaves are narrowly oval and 5-15 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. The fruit capsules are oval and 1-2 cm long and wide.
Life form annual
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality
Pollination entomogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 7.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Montane sparse forests, limestone shrublands at elevations of 300-700 metres in southern China. Occurs in a wide range of vegetation and soil types at elevations up to 1,500 metres.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 1-6
Soil texture 3-6
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses animal food coffee substitute construction food fuel material medicinal oil ornamental poison wood
Edible -
Therapeutic use Anthelmintics (bark), Cathartics (bark), Laxatives (bark), Stomach diseases (bark), Cathartics (leaf), Antirheumatic agents (root), Arthritis (root), Bronchitis (root), Cathartics (root), Gout (root), Abdominal pain (seed), Hair loss (seed), Alopecia areata (seed), Anthelmintics (seed), Anti-bacterial agents (seed), Anticonvulsants (seed), Antifungal agents (seed), Anti-inflammatory agents (seed), Antineoplastic agents (seed), Arthritis (seed), Ascites (seed), Bronchitis (seed), Cathartics (seed), Common cold (seed), Constipation (seed), Cough (seed), Dyspepsia (seed), Edema (seed), Emollients (seed), Endophthalmitis (seed), Expectorants (seed), Fever (seed), Fishes, poisonous (seed), Flatulence (seed), Helminthiasis (seed), Hemagglutination (seed), Insecticides (seed), Counterirritant (seed), Laryngeal diseases (seed), Laxatives (seed), Mental disorders (seed), Pain (seed), Paralysis (seed), Pharyngitis (seed), Scabies (seed), Schistosomiasis (seed), Skin diseases (seed), Snake bites (seed), Stomach diseases (seed), Stroke (seed), Toothache (seed), Trismus (seed), Urinary bladder calculi (seed), Urolithiasis (seed), Vitiligo (seed), Diaphoretic (seed), Irritant (seed), Abortive (unspecified), Antidote(Drug) (unspecified), Arrow-poison (unspecified), Cancer (unspecified), Cancer(Stomach) (unspecified), Carbuncle (unspecified), Cathartic (unspecified), Cold (unspecified), Colic (unspecified), Diaphoretic (unspecified), Diarrhea (unspecified), Dysentery (unspecified), Emetic (unspecified), Emmenagogue (unspecified), Flux (unspecified), Piscicide (unspecified), Poison (unspecified), Purgative (unspecified), Ranula (unspecified), Rubefacient (unspecified), Skin (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Throat (unspecified), Toothache (unspecified), Vesicant (unspecified), Apoplexy (unspecified), Homicide (unspecified), Paralysis (unspecified), Schistosomiasis (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Anthelmintics (unspecified), Antirheumatic agents (unspecified), Ascites (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Brain diseases (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Calculi (unspecified), Cathartics (unspecified), Common cold (unspecified), Constipation (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Diuretics (unspecified), Edema (unspecified), Gout (unspecified), Hematuria (unspecified), Hypertension (unspecified), Counterirritant (unspecified), Joint diseases (unspecified), Laryngitis (unspecified), Laxatives (unspecified), Lymphadenopathy (unspecified), Mental disorders (unspecified), Neuralgia (unspecified), Periodontitis (unspecified), General tonic for rejuvenation (unspecified), Sciatica (unspecified), Scorpion stings (unspecified), Snake bites (unspecified), Urinary bladder calculi (unspecified), Visceral disorders (unspecified), Irritant (unspecified), Fractures, bone (whole plant), Insecticides (whole plant), Joint dislocations (whole plant), Leukemia, lymphoid (whole plant), Sprains and strains (whole plant), Cathartics (wood), Emetics (wood), Diaphoretic (wood)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by cuttings or seedlings.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Croton tiglium habit picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Croton tiglium leaf picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Croton tiglium leaf picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Croton tiglium leaf picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Croton tiglium flower picture by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Croton tiglium world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Moldova (Republic of), Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Province of China, and Viet Nam

Conservation status

Croton tiglium threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:343631-1
WFO ID wfo-0000932555
COL ID 6BJW4
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID 629481
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Tiglium officinale Oxydectes birmanica Oxydectes tiglium Croton acutus Croton himalaicus Croton pavana Halecus verus Kurkas tiglium Croton tiglium Oxydectes blancoana Oxydectes pavana Croton arboreus Croton camaza Croton muricatus Croton officinalis Croton jamalgota Croton tiglium var. tiglium Croton birmanicus