Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Southeast Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

The Croton is a bold tropical houseplant prized for its flamboyantly multicoloured leaves, which can display red, orange, yellow, and green all on the same plant. Its leaf pigments intensify in bright light, making it a living mood ring for its growing conditions.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Malpighiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Genus: Codiaeum
Species: Codiaeum variegatum