croton
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Related to croton: Codiaeum variegatum
cro·ton
(krōt′n)n.
1. Any of various plants of the genus Croton, which includes the sources of cascarilla bark and croton oil.
2. A closely related Old World tropical evergreen shrub (Codiaeum variegatum) widely cultivated as a houseplant for its glossy multicolored foliage.
[New Latin Croton, genus name, from Greek krotōn, castor oil plant, from krotōn, tick, sheep tick (the seeds of the castor-oil plant having a ticklike appearance).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
croton
(ˈkrəʊtən)n
1. (Plants) any shrub or tree of the chiefly tropical euphorbiaceous genus Croton, esp C. tiglium, the seeds of which yield croton oil
2. (Plants) any of various tropical plants of the related genus Codiaeum, esp C. variegatum pictum, a house plant with variegated foliage
[C18: from New Latin, from Greek krotōn tick, castor-oil plant (whose berries resemble ticks)]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
cro•ton
(ˈkroʊt n)n.
1. any of numerous chiefly tropical plants constituting the genus Croton, of the spurge family, several species of which, as C. tiglium, have medicinal properties.
2. any of several related plants of the genus Codiaeum, cultivated for their ornamental foliage.
[1745–55; < New Latin < Greek krotṓn a tick, also the castor-oil plant, which has berries likened to ticks]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  croton - grown in many varieties for their brightly colored foliage; widely cultivated as a houseplantCodiaeum, genus Codiaeum - evergreen tropical trees and shrubs with thick and colorful leathery leaves; Malaya and Pacific islands |
| 2. |  croton - tropical Asiatic shrub; source of croton oilgenus Croton - tropical shrubs and herbs; source of croton oil croton oil - viscid acrid brownish-yellow oil from the seeds of Croton tiglium having a violent cathartic action cascarilla, Croton eluteria - West Indian shrub with aromatic bark |
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