Croton Sylvaticus ~ Forest Fever Berry ~ NON EDIBLE ~ Very Unique Rare 5 Seeds LIMITED ~

Croton sylvaticus is a beautiful, spreading, leafy tree, up to 21 m, high sometimes less, usually with a tall, straight trunk up to 1 m in diameter. The bark on young trees is pale grey and smooth, becoming darker and rougher with age, frequently blotched with pink or grey lichen. Branches are smooth and grooved, twigs with prominent leaf scars, usually covered with short rust-coloured hairs. Leaves are dark green, alternate, borne on stalks up to 100 mm long, with 2 small, knob-like growths with glands where the stalk joins the leaf. The leaves are usually egg-shaped, often widest towards the base, tapering to a long point with shortly toothed margins, 50-150 x 100 mm, with five distinct veins from the base, smooth above, and with a few star-shaped hairs below, particularly on the veins. Small stipules fall early. The flowers are small, green, creamy, borne in spikes 60-210 mm long and consisting of many male flowers with only a few female flowers among them towards the base. The fruits are roundish, soft salmon-orange, short-stalked, rough capsules 13 mm in diameter, covered with short hairs, usually with three roundish lobes. Croton is derived from the Greek word kroton, a tick, from the appearance of the seeds of these plants; sylvaticus means growing in woods, forest-loving (compare the apt common name, woodland croton). The genus Croton consists of ± 800 tree or shrub species throughout the tropics, of which only 11 occur in southern Africa. Croton sylvaticus fruits are NOT EDIBLE, but are eaten by birds such as Forest Weavers, Cinnamon Doves, Green Pigeons and Hornbills. Red-eyed Turtle Doves are fond of fruits that have fallen to the ground. A well-known butterfly that breeds on members of the genus is the Green-veined Charaxes, Charaxes candiope. It is an attractive, fast-growing decorative shade tree for warmer gardens. Particularly beautiful when covered with bunches of bright orange fruits, the forest fever-berry can be evergreen under favourable conditions. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EAT OR COOK.