''Leucocroton havanensis'' is an endemic species to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. It is located on serpentine soils and limestone rock in the western and central part of the country. It is an evergreen tree that has

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

flowering, meaning the species has distinct male and female individuals. The plant only grows on a small serpentine island.

Cultivation and uses

The uses by this plant are purely for studying and discovering because it is a newly discovered species and much research has to be done to find its uses. However, scientists have discovered that the genus ''Leucocroton'' is a nickel hyperaccumulator, which means it can absorb dangerous amounts of

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

References

Adelieae Flora of Cuba Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Euphorbiaceae-stub