Croton sylvaticus
| Forest fever-berry | |
|---|---|
| File:Croton sylvaticus, loof en vrugte, Pretoria NBT, a.jpg | |
| Fruiting branches, winter | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Croton |
| Species: | C. sylvaticus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Croton sylvaticus | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Croton sylvaticus is a tree in the family Euphorbiaceae.[2][3] It is commonly known as the forest fever-berry. These trees are distributed in forests from the east coast of South Africa to Tropical Africa. It grows 7–13 metres (23–43 ft) in height, occasionally up to 30 metres (100 ft), in moist forests, thickets and forest edges at altitudes of 350–1,800 metres (1,100–5,900 ft).
Flowers and fruit
[edit | edit source]Greenish cream flowers, up to 3 millimetres (15⁄128 in) long (all male or female or mixed flowers), in racemes, 10–30 centimetres (4–12 in) long. Fruit, light green when young, turning to orange or red, trilobed, oval in shape, hairy.
Uses
[edit | edit source]Used as a general timber, for poles, posts and as a fuel.
Phytochemistry
[edit | edit source]Mwangi et al 1998 find β-caryophyllene oxide, α-humulene-1,2-epoxide, hardwickiic acid, β-sitosterol and stigmasterol in the extracts.[4][5][6] This contrasts with Sadgrove et al 2019 who find almost entirely bicyclogermacrene in the essential oil.[6]
Traditional medicine
[edit | edit source]Sap from leaves is used for healing cuts, bark is used in the treatment of malaria, a decoction from the bark of the roots is taken orally as a remedy for tuberculosis, an infusion of the leaves acts as a purgative.[7]
Gallery
[edit | edit source]-
Tree
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Leaves
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Foliated sprigs
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Crown
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Young stem
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Flower buds on inflorescence
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Flower
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Fruit
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Fruit
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Seeds
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- Pooley, E. (1993). The Complete Field Guide to Trees of Natal, Zululand and Transkei. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value)..
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