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Croton lechleri
Euphorbiaceae FAMILY

Croton lechleri

Croton lechleri

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
4/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitTree
Growth—

Grows best in a well-drained, fertile soil[1]. Most Croton species are relatively indifferent to their habitat and can grow on a wide range of soils in both disturbed and undisturbed vegetation[2]. A fast-growing tree[1]. This species is one of several that supply a red resin from their stem. This resin, often known as 'Dragon's Blood' is often used as an external application to treat a range of skin problems and injuries[3]. Dragon's Blood can be obtained from several species in this genus, as well as from three other distinct genera - Dracaena species, Daemonorops species and Pterocarpus species[3]

Propagation

Seed - Seedlings are very delicate and frequently die or succumb to grasshoppers in the wild[1]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Croton+lechleri>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Rainforest Conservation Fund — http://www.rainforestconservation.org/data_sheets/agroforestry/index.html ↩︎Terse details on usage and Agroforestry notes, coupled with some good photos.
  2. [2]Plant Resources of Southeast Asia — http://proseanet.org/ ↩︎Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia.
  3. [3]A Systematic Review of the Botanical, Phytochemical and Pharmacological Profile of Dracaena cochinchinensis, a Plant — Jia-Yi Fan et al · 2014 · http://10.3390/molecules190710650 · ISBN 1420-3049 ↩︎
  4. [4]Raintree Nutrition - Tropical Plant Database — http://www.rain-tree.com/plants.htm ↩︎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.
  5. [5]Enciclopedia de las Plantas Útiles del Ecuador — de la Torre, L., Navarrete H., P. Muriel M., Macía M.J. & Ba · Herbario QCA de la Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas de la Pontific · 2008 · ISBN 978-9978-77-135-8 ↩︎
  6. [6]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.