''Croton macrostachyus'' is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

native to the mountains of

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

Description

''Croton macrostachyus'' is a deciduous tree. It generally grows 6 to 12 meters tall, and occasionally up to 30 meters. It has a spreading, rounded, and open crown, and a cylindrical bole which can grow up to 100cm in diameter.Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. Accessed 25 November 2022.

Range and habitat

''Croton macrostachyus'' ranges across the mountains of Sub-Saharan Africa, including the

Guinea Highlands The Guinea Highlands is a densely forested mountainous plateau extending from central Guinea through northern Sierra Leone and Liberia to western Ivory Coast. The highlands include a number of mountains, ranges and plateaus, including the Fouta ...

of Guinea, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire, the

Cameroon Highlands The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mounta ...

of Cameroon and Nigeria, the highlands of central Angola, and the mountains of eastern Africa from the

Ethiopian Highlands The Ethiopian Highlands is a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia in Northeast Africa. It forms the largest continuous area of its elevation in the continent, with little of its surface falling below , while the summits reach heights of up to . ...

through the mountains of the Eastern Rift,

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake Tan ...

, and Southern Rift to

Mount Tumbine Mount Tumbine is a mountain in northern Mozambique. It lies in Milange District of Zambézia Province, immediately east of the town of Milange. The Ruo River, which forms the border between Mozambique and Malawi, runs north of the mountain, sep ...

in Mozambique and the

Eastern Highlands :''"Eastern Highlands" also refers to Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea, and part of the Great Dividing Range, Australia.'' The Eastern Highlands, also known as the Manica Highlands, is a mountain range on the border of Zimbabwe ...

of Zimbabwe. It inhabits

Afromontane The Afromontane regions are subregions of the Afrotropical realm, one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms, covering the plant and animal species found in the mountains of Africa and the southern Arabian Peninsula. The Afromontane regions ...

evergreen forest, ''Brachystegia'' woodland, and wooded grassland. It is often found on rocky hillsides, in evergreen riverine and gully forests, in swamp forests, and on

termitaria Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

between 825 and 1,830 meters elevation, and occasionally up to 2,165 meters.

Ecology

''Croton macrostachyus'' is a food plant for the butterfly ''

Charaxes candiope ''Charaxes candiope'', the green-veined emperor or green-veined charaxes, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is common in sub-Saharan Africa. Biology The habitat is forest and savanna excluding arid savanna. It also occurs in garden ...

'' and the moths '' Nudaurelia gueinzii'' and '' Stomphastis heringi''.Euphorbiaceae: ''Croton macrostachyus'' Hochst. ex A. Rich.
''Afromoths'', Belgian Biodiversity Platform. Accessed 25 November 2022.

Uses

''Croton macrostachyus'' has a wide range of uses, including timber, agroforestry, medicine, and as an ornamental plant. The plant is fast-growing and drought-tolerant, and is used in reforestation projects, for erosion control, and as a shade tree in

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

plantations. Its flowers are attractive to bees, and its leaves are used for mulch and green manure to improve soil. It is also used as a hedge or an ornamental and shade tree in gardens. Its wood is cream-colored, moderately soft, of medium weight, and perishable. It is used for carpentry, boxes, crates, and tools, but more frequently for fuel and charcoal. The plant is somewhat toxic, but most parts of the plant are used for a variety of medical treatments, particularly for ridding the body of parasites and toxins and treating skin conditions. Juice from crushed leaves is used as an

anthelmintic Anthelmintics or antihelminthics are a group of antiparasitic drugs that expel parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body by either stunning or killing them and without causing significant damage to the host. They may a ...

, applied to wounds to hasten clotting, and used to treat sores, warts,

ringworm Dermatophytosis, also known as ringworm, is a fungal infection of the skin. Typically it results in a red, itchy, scaly, circular rash. Hair loss may occur in the area affected. Symptoms begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Multiple a ...

, and itchy scalp. Root decoctions are also used as an anthelmintic and to treat malaria and venereal diseases. Root decoctions and the oil from seeds are used as a

purgative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

or as an

abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: ''abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

References

macrostachyus Afromontane flora Plants described in 1848 {{Taxonbar, from= Q3004668