Croton erythrochilus
Müll.Arg.
Euphorbiaceae
Oxydectes erythrochila (Müll.Arg.) Kuntze
Common Name:
General Information
Croton erythrochilus is a shrub or a small tree
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine.
Known Hazards
None known
Botanical References
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
Range
S. America - Peru
Habitat
Not known
Properties
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[
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.
].
Edible Uses
A red resin obtained from the trunk and branches is used to treat internal diseases and wounds[
1900- Title
- Bioactivity of certain medicinal latexes used by the Ese’ejas
- Publication
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology 47 (1995) 159-163
- Author
- Mongelli E. et al
- Website
- http://10.1016/0378-8741(95)01262-C
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 1995
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
A gummy resinous sap drips in profusion from incision made in branches (and in some other species) and this may be one of the Crotons noted from Pozuzo by Ruiz and Pavon the juice of which "some people gather in calabashes and sell later as true dragon's blood, and in truth its taste and astringent flavour make it worth using[
434- Title
- Flora of Peru
- Publication
-
- Author
- Macbride. J.F.
- Publisher
- Field Museum of Natural History
- Year
- 1936
- ISBN
-
- Description
- An excellent attempt at a Flora of Peru, though it is clear that many of the plants were imperfectly known at that time and so information on them was sketchy. Available for download from the Internet.
].
This is one of several Croton species that have the common name 'Sangre de Drago', or 'Dragon's Blood' in allusion to the red resin that exudes from various parts of the plant, but mainly from the bark. This resin has a number of useful medicinal properties, in particular it is astringent and vulnerary and is an effective healing agent that is commonly applied to wounds in order to speed the healing process[
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.
,
1899- Title
- As espécies de Croton L. sect. Cyclostigma Griseb. e Croton L. sect. Luntia (Raf.) G. L. Webster subsect. Matourense
- Publication
- Acta Amazonica VOL. 40(3) 2010: 471 - 488
- Author
- Guimarães L.A.C. & Secco R.de S.
- Publisher
-
- Year
- 2010
- ISBN
-
- Description
-
].
This red resin, obtained from various South American Croton species, contains a dihydrobenzofuran lignan that has been shown to inhibit cell proliferation, which may well explain its application in folk medicine[
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.
].
Medicinal
None known
Other Uses
None known
Propagation
Seed -
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Useful Tropical Plants Database 2014 by
Ken Fern,
web interface by
Ajna Fern
with help from
Richard Morris.
