Common Name:

General Information

Croton megalocarpus is a deciduous tree with a dense, spreading, rather flat crown; it can grow up to 35 metres tall. The unbuttressed, cylindrical bole can be up to 120cm in diameter and unbranched for up to 20 metres[, ].
Croton megalocarpus is a multipurpose tree that is important for local people as a source of timber, firewood and medicines. It is often harvested from the wild and is also cultivated, becoming an important component of agroforestry systems in East Africa. It provides shade and shelter in plantations and gardens, where it also yields good mulch material. A very ornamental tree, it is grown in gardens and along roads to provide shade[]. In recent years, the tree has gained interest for large-scale planting programmes, mainly in Kenya and Tanzania, as a commercial poultry feed and bio-fuel crop with low agro-ecological demands. Most of the plantations are still in the pilot stage of development[]. As an oil producer for bio-fuel, it is comparable to jatropha (Jatropha curcas), which has become the focus of large-scale planting programmes in several tropical countries on account of its potential as a bio-fuel crop with low agro-ecological demands[].

Known Hazards

Dry sawdust may irritate the nose and throat of wood workers[].
It has been reported that smoke from the wood irritates the eyes[].

Botanical References

Range

East tropical Africa - eastern DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya and southern Somalis, south to Zambia and Mozambique.

Habitat

A dominant, upper-canopy tree of evergreen and semi-deciduous forest at elevations from 700 - 2,400 metres, sometimes also in riverine woodland and wooded grassland[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Deciduous Tree
Height	25.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild

Cultivation Details

Croton megalocarpus is a plant of the tropics, where it can be found at elevations from 700 - 2,400 metres. It is most commonly found in regions with a mean annual rainfall of 900 - 1,900 mm, with a dry season of 3 - 4 months and a mean annual temperature of 11 - 26°c[].
Prefers light, deep and well-drained soils[, ]. Most Croton species are relatively indifferent to their habitat and can grow on a wide range of soils in both disturbed and undisturbed vegetation[]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
Being a natural pioneer of large forest gaps and forest margins, regeneration of this species is often prolific in the wild. It has been reported to become invasive under favourable climatic conditions[].
A fast-growing tree in favourable conditions[, ].
In Kenya seedlings reached a height of 1.7 metres in one year; in Rwanda they were 3 metres tall in 2 years and 11.5 metres in 5 years; whilst in Burundi planted trees were only an average of 3.6 metres tall 7 years after planting, and 15 metres tall with a bole diameter of 24cm after 32 years[].
Trees may already start flowering when they are 4 years old. The flowers are short-lived and pollinated by insects such as bees. Fruits take about 5 months to ripen after flowering[].
The tree can be managed by lopping, pollarding and coppicing[, ].
When planted in hedges, plants should be pruned for the first time after 2 years[].
Preliminary observations indicate that a yield of 25 - 30 kilos of seed per tree per year is realistic[].
At the end of their productive life in bio-fuel plantations, approximately 50 years after planting, trees can be felled for their timber[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A maceration or decoction of the bark is taken as a vermifuge, and is also used to treat whooping cough, pneumonia, stomach-ache, fevers including malaria, and abdominal complaints associated with gall bladder and spleen problems[].

Sap from leaves and young twigs are applied to wounds[].

The oil has purgative activity and also showed Epstein-Barr virus activating potency[, ].
Bark extracts showed weak antibacterial activity in in-vitro tests[].
From the bark the clerodane diterpene chiromodine has been isolated as a major constituent, together with lupeol, betulin, beta sitosterol and long-chain fatty esters[].

Agroforestry Uses:

A natural pioneer species, it is fast-growing and also has a wide range of uses. It is a very good choice in plantings to re-establish native woodland or to set up woodland gardens[, ].
The tree is not grazed by livestock and so is often planted in hedges, live fences, shelterbelts and windbreaks[, ]. It is often retained when the forest is cleared and is used as a shade tree for coffee plantations[, ].
Croton megalocarpus trees develop a deep taproot. This makes them quite drought tolerant and allows food crops to be grown underneath[].
The foliage provides good mulch[].
The fruit shells are used as mulch in vegetable gardens and as a component of potting mixtures[].
The flowers provide nectar for honey bees; the honey produced is dark and has a strong flavour[].

Other Uses

A fixed oil obtained from the seeds is used as an ingredient in commercial cosmetic preparations as a skin conditioner[].
The seed oil has been tested as bio-fuel[]. Seeds have an oil content of about 30% and a protein content of about 50%[]. Oil extraction from the seed is done by hand-operated or mechanized screw presses. The oil may be refined in a continuous transesterification reactor to produce bio-fuel of diesel oil quality, with glycerol as a valuable by-product[].
The press-cake remaining after oil extraction can be utilized as bio-fuel and as an organic fertilizer[].

The seeds can be used to dye wool yellowish[].

The heartwood is yellowish white to brownish grey, often with irregular dark brown streaks; it is not distinctly demarcated from the 25 - 50mm wide band of sapwood. The grain is usually straight, texture medium; when freshly sawn it has an unpleasant smell. The wood is medium-weight; hard, strong, moderately durable, being slightly susceptible to termite, dry-wood borer and marine borer attack and liable to attacks by blue stain fungi. It is easy to saw and work with hand tools, but moderately difficult to machine; it usually planes to a smooth and lustrous surface; is resistant to abrasion; nailing, screwing, gluing, varnishing, painting and jointing properties are all satisfactory. The wood is only suitable for sliced veneer. The wood, most commonly known as ‘musine’, is used for construction, flooring, stools, mortars, beehives, veneer and plywood. It is suitable for joinery, interior trim, ship building, vehicle bodies, furniture, cabinet work, railway sleepers and agricultural implements[, ].
The wood is used for fuel and to make charcoal[]. It is highly regarded as firewood but is not recommended for charcoal as the smoke stings the eyes[].
The well-dried nuts are reportedly used as a fuel in some areas, mixed with charcoal in cooking stoves[].

Propagation

Seed - does not require pre-treatment, but is best sown as soon as it is ripe. The seed is generally sown directly where the tree is to grow, though it is also sometimes sown in a shaded position into individual pots and then planted out later. For fresh seed, a germination rate of around 95% can be expected, with the seeds sprouting within 45 days[, ].
Because of its high oil content, the seed has a relatively short viability of around 9 months[]. Seed stored in plastic containers for up to 1 year at 3°c had a germination rate of 80%[].

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