Codiaeum variegatum

Dysentery be damned

Photo by David Clode on Unsplash

The fiery croton, with its bright reds and yellows, is popular shrub in warmer climates, and houseplant in colder ones. As houseplants they can be temperamental, living lux one day, dead the next and are one of those plants with a reputation. I have this small fellow, Nigel. He’s not much to look at yet, but with time, he’ll hopefully be nice little shrub. Fingers crossed, warding spells set, sacrifices… planned.

So what can we say about these temperamental tropicals? According to this article from Science Direct indigenous populations use the croton to cure a variety of ailments. Bark decoctions are used for skin infections, the sap can be used in very small doses, but diluted is safer. Root decoctions are taken for several gastrointestinal ailments.

The article advises that the indigenous variety, Mollucanum, from the Moluccan islands in Indonesia and the Philippines can be safely used to treat amoebic dysentery caused by the parasite Entamoeba histolytica. But there are many croton cultivars out there and, as a group, they do not appear to be as kind as the Mollucanum. Crotons are in the euphorbia family, and if you remember anything about euphorbias, remember this: across the board they are a toxic bunch. Ingesting a croton is more likely to kill you than to cure you of anything.

But they’re very pretty if you have a poison garden in mind, just saying.

According to CABI croton sap is drunk and rubbed into snake bites. There is no report regarding the efficacy of this method. Or what types of snake bites are being treated, for that matter.

Another interesting fact about crotons is that they rarely flower in captivity, which is unfortunate as plants grown from seed are often not to type. This means babies don’t look like their parents. Which is really cool from a horticultural standpoint, just by planting a bunch of seeds, you could get a crop of new cultivars. Will Nigel ever flower? It’s unlikely, but a poison gardener can dream, right?

You know the drill, now I take a bit of this research and turn it into a horrifying tale to be published on October 1st. Only paid subscribers will be able to read the full story, so subscribe now and don’t miss out!