| from the June 27, 2010 Newsletter issued from Hacienda
Chichen Resort beside Chichén Itzá Ruins, central Yucatán, MÉXICO VARIEGATED CROTON I've begun paying more attention to the ornamentals scattered around the Hacienda. A very common one is shown below:
With such pretty leaves it's clear why that species is so frequently planted. It's the Variegated Croton, CODIAEUM VARIEGATUM, a member of the same family as the Poinsettias, Castor Bean and spurges. The species is native to southern India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia and the western Pacific islands. It's grown in tropical settings worldwide, and in colder climes it's kept inside in pots. It's an evergreen shrub growing up to ten feet tall (3 m), though most of ours are only about chest high and the ones up North in pots usually are smaller still. Horticulturalists have created hundreds of cultivars from the wild species. They've developed kinds with leaves that range from roundish to very narrow, leaves that can be lobed or unlobed, leaves with and without crinkly margins, leaves whose color patterns may follow the veins, margins or appear as random blotches, and the leaves' colors can be green, white, purple, orange, yellow, red, pink -- just about anything. The name Variegated Croton is a little misleading, since there's a big genus called Croton in this same family, but that's a different plant. Members in the Variegated Croton's family, the Euphorbiaceae, often "bleed" copious sap when wounded, and often the sap is colored and toxic, even irritating or burning the skin. Variagated Croton's sap can cause skin eczema in some people, and if eaten in fair amounts is toxic. However, small doses of it have been used to treat gastric ulcers. from the January 15, 2012 Newsletter issued from Hacienda
Chichen Resort beside Chichén Itzá Ruins, central Yucatán, MÉXICO
That's also a Variegated Croton -- the very same species -- but a very different-looking cultivar. I'm showing it just to remind ourselves that horticultural cultivars can look enormously different from one another. Several hundred cultivars are recognized for this species. In fact, you might enjoy browsing the many "variations on the Variegated Croton theme" shown here. |
Plants
& Animals of Mexico Homepage
Yucatan Homepage
Backyard Nature Homepage