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Useful Tropical Plants

Croton eluteria

(L.) W.Wright

Euphorbiaceae

+ Synonyms

Cascarilla officinalis Raf.

Clutia cascarilla L.

Clutia decandra Crantz

Clutia eluteria L.

Croton cascarilla (L.) L.

Croton cascarilloides Geiseler

Croton eluteria Benn.

Croton homolepidus Müll.Arg.

Croton rosmarinifolius Salisb.

Oxydectes cascarilla (L.) Kuntze

Oxydectes cascarilloides Kuntze

Oxydectes eluteria (L.) Kuntze

Oxydectes homolepida (Müll.Arg.) Kuntze

Common Name: Cascarilla

Croton eluteria
Drawing of leaves, flowers, fruits and seed
Photograph by: Franz Eugen Köhler
Public domain
Croton eluteria Croton eluteria

General Information

Croton eluteria can vary in habit from a shrub 1.5 - 3 metres tall to a small tree growing up to 12 metres tall[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
,
426
Title
Flowering Plants of Jamaica
Publication
 
Author
Adams. C.D.
Publisher
University of the West Indies; Jamaica.
Year
1972
ISBN
 
Description
A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.
].
The tree is often used in herbal medicine, the bark being gathered from the wild and traded internationally.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

426
Title
Flowering Plants of Jamaica
Publication
 
Author
Adams. C.D.
Publisher
University of the West Indies; Jamaica.
Year
1972
ISBN
 
Description
A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.

Range

Caribbean - Bahamas; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Haiti; Jamaica.

Habitat

Thickets and woodlands on limestone soils in both dry and wet areas at elevations from sea level to 870 metres[
426
Title
Flowering Plants of Jamaica
Publication
 
Author
Adams. C.D.
Publisher
University of the West Indies; Jamaica.
Year
1972
ISBN
 
Description
A terse treatment of the flowering plants of Jamaica, with a botanical description of each plant, notes on habitat etc.
].

Properties

Medicinal Rating *  *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitTree
Height12.00 m
Cultivation StatusWild

Cultivation Details


Most Croton species are relatively indifferent to their habitat and can grow on a wide range of soils, though this species is found mainly in limestone soils. It can grow in both disturbed and undisturbed vegetation[
310
Title
Plant Resources of Southeast Asia
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://proseanet.org/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
].
The tree produces small but very fragrant white flowers almost all the year round[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

Cascarilla has a very long history of traditional herbal medicine use worldwide[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
]. The bark is antispasmodic, antitussive, aromatic bitter, astringent, carminative, cholagogue, digestive, expectorant, febrifuge, hypotensive, stimulant and tonic[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
,
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
,
1783
Title
Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador
Publication
 
Author
de la Torre, L., Navarrete H., P. Muriel M., Macía M.J. & Ba
Publisher
Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontific
Year
2008
ISBN
978-9978-77-135-8
Description
 
].
It has long been used as a general bitter digestive aid, to stimulate the digestion and promote the flow of digestive juices[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
]. It is utilized in the treatment of a range of problems connected with the digestive system such as nausea and vomiting; diarrhoea and dysentery; dyspepsia and colic; intestinal bloating and gas[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
]. It has also been used in the treatment of a wide range of other conditions including intermittent and low fevers; as an expectorant for chronic bronchitis; anaemia, haemorrhoids, high blood pressure and as an overall tonic during convalescence[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

Cascarilla contains a range of medically active constituents including 1.5 to 3% volatile oils, a bitter compound called cascarillin A, resins, tannin, lipids, and several neoclerodane diterpenoids called cascarillins.
Research has shown that the bark's essential oil is antimicrobial. The long standing traditional use of cascarilla for digestion was verified by scientists in 2003. These researchers in Italy reported that cascarilla and its major chemical compound, cascarillin, were found to significantly increase gastric acid secretion in the stomach. They noted; 'These preliminary results provide the first rationale for the use of cascarilla in bitter preparations aimed at improving digestion.'[
318
Title
Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
Detailed information on the medicinal uses of more than two hundred rainforest plants, mainly from S. America, with basic descriptions of the plants, their other uses etc.
].

Other Uses

An essential oil is obtained from the bark[
46
Title
Dictionary of Economic Plants.
Publication
 
Author
Uphof. J. C. Th.
Publisher
Weinheim
Year
1959
ISBN
-
Description
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
].
'Cascarilla oil'. an essential oil obtained from hydrodistillation of the powdered bark is used as a perfume in commercial cosmetic products[
1243
Title
CosIng
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-03-28. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Croton+eluteria>

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