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Croton eluteria
Also called Seaside Balsam
Croton eluteria, known as cascarilla, is a plant species of the genus Croton that is native to the Caribbean. It has been naturalized in other tropical regions of the Americas. It grows to be a small tree or tall shrub, rarely reaching 20 feet (6 m) in height. Its leaves are scanty, alternate, ovate-lanceolate, averaging 2 inches (5 cm) long, with close scaling below, giving a metallic silver-bronze appearance, and scattered white scales above. The flowers are small, with white petals, and very fragrant, appearing in March and April. The scented bark is fissured, pale yellowish brown, and may be covered in lichen.
Croton eluteria is used to aid digestion. Cascarilla bark is also used to flavor the liqueurs Campari and Vermouth.
Croton adenophorus · Texabama Croton · Alabama croton · Healing croton · Croton aromaticus · Croton barahonensis · California croton · Hogwort · Croton chilensis · Chittagong Croton · Mexican croton · Cortez's croton
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Croton eluteria by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
