Croton Macrostachyus

Scientific Name: Croton megalocarpus

Common Name: English (croton)

Family: Spurges

Names in other languages: Mchani mbao (Swahili)

Luganda (nkulumire,mbula); Swahili (msenefu); Trade name (musine)

• General Information

Croton megalocarpus grows to 15-35 m; it has distinctive layering of branches and a rather flat crown. Bark dark gray, rough, and crackling. Hardy and fast growing.

• Features of Albizia Gummifera that make it identifiable:

Leaves variable, long, oval and pointed to about 12 cm. The dull green upper surface contrasts with the pale, silvery underside.

Flowers conspicuous but very short-lived; yellow white, inserted in many flowered, silver-budded racemes, up to 30 cm long; a few female flowers towards the base, the remainder male.

Fruit turns from green to grayish-brown as it matures. Endocarp hard and woody. Each fruit contains 3 ellipsoid-ovoid or oblong-ellipsoid seeds, 2.2- 2.4 cm long and 1.2-1.4 cm wide. Seeds white when immature, grey brown when mature, with a minute caruncle.

Uses

Traditional medical uses for croton include the bark, seeds, roots and leaves being used for medicinal purposes such as stomach ailments, malaria, wound clotting, and pneumonia. Recently, croton nuts are being used as a commercial product in local communities in East Africa.