About Croton verreauxii Baill.
Croton verreauxii Baill. is most often a shrub growing in the ecotone between eucalyptus forest and rainforest. It can also grow within rainforest, reaching up to 20 metres tall with a trunk diameter of 20 centimetres. Its trunk is short, not buttressed, and crooked, with branches forming near the base of the plant. The bark is dark brown, sometimes marked with thin vertical cracks. Small branches are grey and slender, with a few irregular features including scales and hairs. When crushed, small branches may release a pleasant sweet scent. Leaves are arranged alternately, with blunt tips and either tapering or rounded bases. The upper leaf surface is glossy green, while the lower leaf surface is somewhat duller. Occasional orange senescent leaves can be seen in the plant’s canopy. Leaves are elliptic in shape, 5 to 12 centimetres long, and may have toothed or smooth edges. Leaf stalks are 5 to 13 millimetres long, with a channel along the upper surface, and bear two small glands at the top of the stalk. Yellowish green flowers grow in racemes, and bloom from November to January. The five-petaled flowers are dioecious, with separate male and female flowers occurring on the same individual plant. The fruit is an orange-brown three-lobed capsule; each lobe holds one smooth, angular, reddish-brown seed. Seeds measure 2 millimetres in diameter. Fruit mostly matures between April and September, but can mature at any other time of year.
