Codeaum variegatum

Croton

Scientific name: Codeaum variegatum

Family: Euphorbiaceae

It is a tropical, evergreen, monoecious shrub growing to 3 m  tall and has large, thick, leathery, shiny evergreen leaves, alternately arranged, 5–30 cm long and 0.5–8 cm  broad.

 The leaf blades can, for example, be ruler-lanceolate, oblong, elliptic, lanceolate, ovate inverted, ovate spatulate, or violin-shaped and coloured green, yellow, or purple in various patterns, depending on the variety.

 The petiole has a length of 0.2 to 2.5 cm. The inflorescences are long racemes, 8–30 cm (3.1–11.8 in) long, with male and female flowers on separate inflorescences; the male flowers are white with five small petals and 20–30 stamens, pollens are oval approximately 52x32 microns in size. The female flowers are yellowish, with no petals. The flowering period is usually in early autumn.

 The fruit is a capsule 9 mm (0.35 in) in diameter, containing three seeds that are 6 mm (0.24 in) in diameter. When cut, stems bleed a milky sap like many of the Euphorbiaceae.