Croton (plant)
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Croton ( Codiaeum variegatum ) |
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| Codiaeum variegatum | ||||||||||||
| ( L. ) Rumph. ex A.Juss. |
The croton ( Codiaeum variegatum ), also called croton , wonder shrub or crab flower, is a species of plant belonging to the genus Codiaeum within the family of the milkweed family (Euphorbiaceae). Many varieties are ornamental plants in tropical parks and gardens, as well as in rooms.
description
Codiaeum variegatum is a tropical, evergreen, woody plant that normally grows as a shrub and can reach heights of up to 3 meters. The parts of the plant contain a colorless, slightly toxic latex . The leaf scars are clearly visible on the smooth branches.
The alternate leaves are divided into a petiole and a leaf blade. The petiole has a length of 0.2 to 2.5 cm. The thin leathery, bald leaf blade is shaped and colored very differently depending on the variety. With a length of 5 to 30 cm and a width of (0.3 to) 0.5 to 8 cm, the leaf blade can be simple to divided, for example, it can be linear, linear-lanceolate, oblong, elliptical, lanceolate, egg-shaped, Obviously, spatulate, violin-shaped or curved with a wedge-shaped to blunt base and a pointed to rounded tip. The leaf colors range from green to yellow to purple-red and very different patterns are possible.
The flowering period usually extends from September to October. Codiaeum variegatum is single sexed ( monoecious ). They form lateral, slender, simple, racemose inflorescences that are 8 to 30 cm in length and contain many flowers. The gracefully stalked, male flowers are five-fold with a double flower envelope. Your five sepals are larger than the petals. The discus has five glands. They contain many (20 to 30) stamens . The approximately thick stalked female flowers have yellowish, egg-shaped-triangular sepals. Your disc is ring-shaped. In the female flowers are three carpels to dreikammerigen ovary grown, with only one ovule per chamber. The three styluses are curved back.
The almost spherical, somewhat flattened capsule fruits with a diameter of about 9 mm are bare. The fruits usually ripen between November and December. The seeds are about 6 mm in diameter.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24-72, 80 or 84-120.
ingredients
All parts of the plant are poisonous.
distribution
There are natural occurrences in: Malacca , the Sunda Archipelago , the Philippines , in Australia only in Queensland , on the Fiji Islands and on Vanuatu .
Systematics
This species was in 1753 under the name Croton variegatus (where "variegatum") by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum , 2, S. 1199 first published . Under the name Codiaeum variegatum , Georg Eberhard Rumpf made it a type species of the genus Codiaeum in Adrien Henri Laurent de Jussieu in 1824 : De Euphorbiacearum Generibus Medicisque earumdem viribus tentamen, tabulis aeneis 18 illustratum , 80, 111, plate 9, f. 30. Other synonyms for Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Rumph. ex A.Juss. are: Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Blume , Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum (Lodd.) Garbage. Arg. , Croton pictus Lodd.
The croton used to belong to the genus Croton , hence the German common name . The generic name Codiaeum comes from the Greek: kodeia for "head of the poppy".
A distinction is made between the following varieties:
- Codiaeum variegatum var. Moluccanum (Decne.) Garbage. Arg.
- Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Rumph. ex A.Juss. var. variegatum (Syn .: Codiaeum variegatum var. pictum (Hook.) Müll. Arg. )
Ornamental plant
There are many varieties of this species. The varieties are planted in parks and gardens throughout the tropical belt . In cooler climates it serves as a houseplant . The varieties are also suitable for hydroponics . The more light the plant gets, the more colorful the leaves are. The variegated varieties can only be obtained through vegetative propagation . Codiaeum do not tolerate sudden drops in temperature and should not be placed too close together for good ventilation to prevent disease.
photos
Planted in the tropical garden
The leaves are only so beautifully colored when cared for outdoors or in a greenhouse.
Narrow-leaved variety
Narrow-leaved variety
Male inflorescence
Male inflorescence
Female inflorescence
Young fruits
Capsules (seeds)
swell
- Bingtao Li & Michael G. Gilbert: Codiaeum in der Flora of China , Volume 11, 2008, p. 268: Codiaeum variegatum - Online.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Codiaeum variegatum at Tropicos.org. In: IPCN Chromosome Reports . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ↑ Codiaeum variegatum at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
- ^ A b Codiaeum variegatum in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), USDA , ARS , National Genetic Resources Program. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
- ↑ Gordon Cheers (Ed.): Botanica: The ABC of plants. 10,000 species in text and images . Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, 2003, ISBN 3-8331-1600-5 (therein page 243).
