Bushbernie's Garden
Croton
Genus: Codiaeum.
Species: Codiaeum variegatum.
Codiaeum variegatum is a native of Ambon Island in Indonesia. Unlike most plants, they are classified according to the shape of their leaves.
The groups or varieties include: broad leaf, long narrow leaf, oak leaf, and semi-oak leaf. The ‘interrupted leaf’ variety is peculiar in that the centre vein continues to grow beyond the leaf, and another section of leaf forms at its end.
There is also a ‘spiral leaf’ variety, that looks rather as if it has come from science fiction. There are literally hundreds of different crotons.
It may be thought odd to describe this colourful plant as ‘evergreen’, but, technically, it is! The leaves are alternate, anything up to about 20 cm long, leathery, brightly variegated, usually in green, yellow, red, orange or white combinations, and even some purples.
Crotons are monoecious. The female flowers are tiny, star-shaped, yellow in axillary racemes, and the male flowers are like fluffy balls.
