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Croton

Croton s the most evergreen plant which bears a wide range of diverse species in Euphorbiaceae family, amongst which 150 of these can easily be found in almost every garden. We find some of its species in the form of shrubs and herbs to trees. All the species of Croton pursue very attractive, colorful and variegated leaves. This plant can be placed anywhere, inside the house, outside the house, offices -- everywhere.
Picture Courtesy: https://www.pexels.com/@saymum-khan-206804

Though this plant needs a little care to keep its leaves green and happy, it also contains very essential benefits which we might be unaware of. However, we should always consult a good Herbalist or personal Physicist prior it’s consumption, as it’s seeds stem, leaves and roots are toxic in nature. 

Croton and it’s medicinal uses:

In various parts of the globe, Croton’s bark, root, seeds and leaves are used medicinally. 

Seeds: 

  • Though Croton seeds are considered toxic in nature, they are still a very effective remedy to cure many diseases. 

  • The extract of this seed is consumed to treat diseases like stomach pain, constipation, oedema, ascites and many more. 

  • Add 5-10 drops Croton’s oil in a bowl of water, before taking steam, then deeply inhale the vapours. Repeating this process everyday will enrich one's mind and body with freshness.

  • The extract of croton seed is also directly applied on the skin while suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Nerve pain, itching, scabies and rashes and muscle pain. 

  • Application of Croton seeds are used to treat skin lesions, boils, carbuncles. 

  • Due to it’s toxic nature, it shouldn’t be consumed by children or pregnant women and those who are lactating. 

Hence, the above points on seed intakes should be taken by any individual only after consultation of a good Herbalist or personal physicist.

Leaves: The poultice of the croton leaves or crushing the leaves applying them on cuts, wounds and bee stings or snake bite will give instant relief.

Roots: It’s crushed roots are also applied to skin areas that are affected by cancerous lesions. The decoction of croton’s roots helps in reducing fever, cold, oral infections and inflammation.
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Care for Croton:

Potting Mixture: 

Croton requires a well drained soil which can hold moisture with it. To provide this potting mixture, we need 1/3rd garden soil, 1/3rd river sand (or any sand), 1/3rd part cocopeat and a container with a drainage hole. The sand will help water to drain easily through the hole, also cocopeat will help in retaining the moisture.

Watering: 

This plant does like regular watering but at the same time, it doesn’t like to be over watered. As mentioned above, it requires moist soil but not wet or soggy soil. So, we can water this when we only see the top soil is getting dry out. It doesn’t also like to be in dry soil for quite a long period of time, which may result in turning out the top most leaves tip to brown color. If we notice the leaves are getting wilt and are shrinking, then we should immediately water the plant thoroughly.

Environmental conditions: 

Croton is mostly found in southern and southeastern Asia and likes warm and humid climate (between 10 degree Celsius to 28 degree Celsius). It needs a little more care in harsh conditions. It doesn’t like to be in very cold climates neither in very warm climates. In summers and spring, we can notice its speed in growth, but in winters it’s speed of growth reduces.

Picture Courtesy: https://www.pexels.com/@francesco-ungaro

Sunlight: 

4-5 hours of indirect sunlight everyday or we can keep it in a semi-shade part  of our house, so as to keep Croton happy. It neither likes direct sunlight nor it likes to be in complete shade. Placing this plant in shade will result in fading the color of its leaves and keeping in completely.

Propagation: 

The best time for its propagation is in late winters. We can just take out the top stem, cut the bottom leaves of the stem and keep 4-5 leaves in one sample. First dip the bottom of the stem in a growing hormone, get the growing hormone from the shop or dip the stem in the mixture of Cinnamon and honey, and place the sample in the above mentioned potting mixture.

Infestation: 

Sometimes it also gets attacked by mealy bugs, thrips or spider mites. There are two ways to get rid of these. Take a cotton ball, dip it in alcohol and wipe out all its leaves (both the sides). The second method is to spray the plant with  detergent water. For this we can take 500ml of water with a tablespoon of detergent in it. Detergent water will wash all the pesticides. After treating with detergent water make sure to clean the plant with normal water too. To avoid all these treatments, we can just spray neem water(Azadirachta indica) every month and protect the plant with these pests. 


Hope you like reading this article and found it helpful. Do share feedback and pics of your plant on the feedback_benefitsallaroundyou@gmail.com. Feel free to share the article on your social media to spread awareness about the benefits all around us.

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Location: Paradeep, Odisha, India

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