Common Name: Bois Sang

General Information

Croton gossypiifolius is a shrub to a small tree
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a source of a coarse fibre.
Croton gossypiifolius has a very wide distribution, large population, is not currently experiencing any major threats and no significant future threats have been identified. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2019)[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Colombia, Venezuela; Caribbean - Trinidad & Tobago; ?southern Mexico

Habitat

Semi-evergreen seasonal forest, secondary growth in montane areas, dry wooded slopes

Properties

Conservation Status	Least Concern
Habit	Shrub
Height	0.00 m

Cultivation Details

Most Croton species are relatively indifferent to their habitat and can grow on a wide range of soils in both disturbed and undisturbed vegetation[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Croton gossypiifolius Vahl is one of those species known as dragon's blood, due to the red color of its latex. It is used in the traditional medicine of Venezuela to heal wounds and as an anti-inflammatory. Cyclic peptides, alkaloids, lignans and flavonoids have been isolated from species of this plant, collected in other latitudes. As part of our research in the search for bioactive metabolites of plants belonging to the Croton genus, we have recently reported the composition of the essential oils of Croton gossypiifolius collected in our country, and in this article we present the isolation and characterization of the major secondary metabolites present in the bark of this plant[].
The phytochemical evaluation of the bark of C. gossypifolius collected in Venezuela showed that the species contains compounds common to other species of the genus, especially ent-kauran type diterpenes, some of which have shown important biological activity. It is necessary to separately evaluate each one of the compounds in the biological actions indicated for this species in order to identify those responsible for these pharmacological activities[].

Latex is used as a healing agent to treat ulcers and wounds; also to treat anemia and toothache[].
The plant (part not specified but probably the latex) is used to treat snake bites[].

Other Uses

A coarse fibre is obtained from the plant[].

Propagation

Seed -

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