Croton eluteria
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Croton eluteria |
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| ( L. ) W. Wright in Sw. |
The cascarilla tree ( Croton eluteria ) is a species of the species-rich genus Croton in the family of the milkweed family (Euphorbiaceae).
description
Croton eluteria grows as a shrub or small tree and can reach heights of up to 12 meters. The straight trunk reaches a diameter of about 20 centimeters. The bark of the trunk is pale yellow-brown with fine cracks; it has white or gray spots at intervals. The stalked leaves are often somewhat heart-shaped at the base and bluntly pointed. The upper side of the leaf is pale green to gray-green; the underside is densely covered with a silvery coating that looks white from a distance. The leaves are relatively smaller and narrower on tree-like specimens.
Croton eluteria is single sexed ( monoecious ). The flowers are dense in simple terminal or axillary ährigen inflorescences together. The stalked, small, white flowers give off an intense, pleasant scent.
distribution
The distribution area of Croton eluteria lies in the Neotropic . The original home is in the Caribbean (including Jamaica , Bahamas ). It is now widespread in Mexico , Guatemala , Panama and the South American states of Colombia and Ecuador .
use
It is used to flavor alcoholic beverages ( Campari ). The essential oils are used to flavor tobacco. The species is also used in folk medicine.
The drug is called Kaskarillrinde in German, Cascarilla in Spanish (Cascarillae Cortex, Cortex Cascarillae, Cortex Eluteriae, Cortex Thuris), it is the dried bark.
Systematics
The Swedish naturalist Carl von Linné listed the species under the taxon Clutia eluteria in his work Species Plantarum , published in 1753 . The Scottish botanist William Wright referred to this basionym in 1787 , but moved the species from the genus Clutia to the genus Croton and assigned it to the taxon Croton eluteria, which is valid today .
swell
- Joseph P. Remington, Horatio C. Woods et al .: The Dispensatory of the United States of America , 20th Edition, 1918 Cascarilla: C - pp. 53-57 - pdf
Web links
- Entry at GRIN (Engl.)
- Entry at ITIS ( Memento of October 3, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
- Description in henriettes-herb.com (Engl.)
- Entry at rain-tree.com (Engl.)