Codiaeum variegatum (L.) A. Juss.
Croton, garden croton
Croton is native to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and many South Pacific islands. Don’t confuse the common name “croton” with the related genus, Croton. Numerous cultivars are available.
Plants: Evergreen tropical shrubs are up to 9½′ (3 m) tall, with multiple stems and prominent leaf scars.
Leaves: Alternate, leathery, shiny, 1¾–12 ⨉ ⅛–3″ (5–30 cm ⨉ 5–80 mm). They are highly variable in shape and variegated in color. Leaves may be lanceolate, oblong, elliptical, ovate-inverted, or ovate-spatulate. They may resemble teardrops or diamonds. Leaf coloring includes green, chartreuse, yellow, burgundy, purple-red, to pink, sometimes speckled with colored spots or stripes of spots. Each leaf has a petiole 1/16–⅞″ (2–25 mm) long.
Flowers: Racemes of flowers are [8-30 cm)] long. Male flowers are white, with five small petals and a starburst of 20-30 stamens. Female flowers, appearing on separate racemes, lack petals, and are yellowish in color. Each flower has three stigmas.
Fruits: Roughly round capsules, about ¾″ (1.9 cm) around, with three seeds, each ¼″ (6.3 mm) in diameter.
Habitats: Open forests and scrub.
Edibility: Poisonous. 
Clear sap is a skin irritant.
Online References:
Codiaeum variegatum (L.) A. Juss. var. pictum (Lodd.) Müll. Arg.
7/13/1991 · Hawaii Eclipse Trip, Hawaii 
ID is uncertain 
2/25/2012 · Joan’s Flowers · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) 
4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm) 
4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm) 
7/13/1991 · Hawaii Eclipse Trip, Hawaii ID is uncertain 
2/3/2024 · Heather and Katie's, Holbrook, Massachusetts 
4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland · ≈ 12 × 17″ (29 × 44 cm) 
2/24/1998 · Antigua 
1/5/2026 · Guam · By Jacquelyn Boyt 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Malpighiales | A broad group encompassing 16,000 species |
| Family | Euphorbiaceae | Euphorbia or spurge family |
| Genus | Codiaeum | From the Greek kodeia or kodia, ”head, head of plants, bulb, or capsule,“ which may refer to the fruit capsules, or leaves (being used for wreaths). The genus epithet may also come from a native Tahitian name, Kohido. |
| Species | variegatum | Variegated, i.e. different in some way |
Codiaeum variegatum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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