croton

croton
/kroht"n/, n.
1. any of numerous chiefly tropical plants constituting the genus Croton, of the spurge family, several species of which, as C. tiglium, have important medicinal properties.
2. (among florists) any plant of the related genus Codiaeum (or Phyllaurea) cultivated for its ornamental foliage.
[1745-55; < NL < Gk krotón a tick, also the castor-oil plant, which has berries likened to ticks]

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Colourful-leaved plant (Codiaeum variegatum) of the spurge family.

Native to Malaysia and Pacific islands, it is popular as a houseplant. Its numerous varieties grow as shrubs or small trees with brilliant, glossy, leathery leaves that can be solid in colour or occur in combinations of green, yellow, white, orange, pink, red, crimson, and purple. Another plant of the same family but of a different genus is purging croton (Croton tiglium), a small tree native to Southeast Asia with seeds that yield croton oil.

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▪ plant species
also called  Variegated Laurel 
 (Codiaeum variegatum), colourful-leaved plant of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Its numerous varieties of shrubs or small trees with brilliantly coloured, glossy, leathery leaves are much grown as potted plants. Native to Malaysia and the Pacific, the trees reach a height of about 6 m (20 feet). Leaf colours, mostly resulting from anthocyanin in the leaf, occur solid or in combinations of green, yellow, white, orange, pink, red, crimson, and purple. The 10–15-centimetre (4–6-inch) leaves vary from linear and lance-shaped to oval and lobed, depending upon the variety.

      Another plant of the same family, but of a different genus, the true croton, is purging croton (Croton tiglium), a small tree from the seeds of which croton oil is extracted. It is native to Southeast Asia.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Croton — may refer to: Contents 1 In plants 2 In the United States 3 In Europe 4 Other 5 See also …   Wikipedia

  • croton — [ krɔtɔ̃ ] n. m. • 1791; gr. kroton « ricin » ♦ Arbuste tropical (euphorbiacées) à feuilles persistantes bordées de rouge. Huile de croton, extraite des graines toxiques. ● croton nom masculin (bas latin croton, onis, du grec krotôn, ônos, ricin) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Croton — Cro ton (kr? t?n), n. [Gr. ????, prop., a tick, which the seed of the croton resembles.] (Bot.) A genus of euphorbiaceous plants belonging to tropical countries. [1913 Webster] {Croton oil} (Med.), a viscid, acrid, brownish yellow oil obtained… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • CROTON — civitas Italiae, olim Brutiorum, celeberrima et saluberrima, ad Aeserum fluv. In ora maris Ionii, Democede, Medicô Polycratis et Darii, Herodot. l. 3. Alcmaeone, similiter Medicô, Pythagorae discipul, cuius Favorinus meminit; Orphcô Poetâ, etc.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Croton —   [griechisch krótōn »Hundelaus« (wegen der Ähnlichkeit des Samens mit diesem Insekt)] der, s/ e, Kroton, Gattung der Wolfsmilchgewächse mit rd. 700 meist strauchigen, in Amerika beheimateten Arten. Einige Hybriden mit bunten Blättern sind …   Universal-Lexikon

  • croton — [krōt′ n] n. [ModL < Gr krotōn, a tick, castor oil plant or (in pl.) its ticklike seeds] 1. any of a large, mostly tropical genus (Croton) of shrubs, trees, and herbs of the spurge family: certain species yield croton oil and cascarilla,… …   English World dictionary

  • Croton — meint: Croton (Gattung), eine Pflanzengattung aus der Familie der Wolfsmilchgewächse Kroton (Pflanze), ist eine Pflanzenart aus der Familie der Wolfsmilchgewächse Crotone, eine italienische Provinzhauptstadt siehe auch Kroton …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • croton — CROTÓN s. m. arbust, arbore din familia euforbiaceelor, cu seminţe conţinând ulei toxic. (< fr. croton) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • Croton [1] — Croton (Crotōna, a. Geogr.), Stadt in Bruttium, im Gebiet der Japyger, am Äsarus mit Hafen; 710 v. Chr. gegründet von Achäern unter Myskelos, in Verbindung mit Spartanern, wuchs die Stadt u. wurde durch ihren ausgebreiteten Handel, ihre… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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