Croton malabaricus Beddome (EUPHORBIACEAE)
Common names
Malayalam: Kola vacchi, Thavatta polavu.
Description: Trees up to 8 m tall. Leaves rhomboid-ovate or ovate-elliptic, up to 15 x 7.5 cm, cuneate at base, acuminate at apex, silver-scaly below; petioles up to 12 cm long. Flowers in terminal racemes covered with scales. The calyx is divided into five lobes. There are 10 to 12 stamens with villous filaments. The ovary is adorned with scales, and the stigma splits into two parts. The capsules measure approximately 2.5 centimeters in length and are three-valved.
Flowering & Fruiting : December – May.
Distribution: India: In the evergreen and semi-evergreen forests at 900-1200 m. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Endemic.