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In Singapore: Chinese Croton, 红背桂, Variegated Blindness Tree (Grown in Singapore)
Excoecaria cochinchinensis is a small evergreen shrub from Southeast Asia, grown for its colourful leaves. Keep it warm and bright, and protect it from cold drafts and sap contact.
Excoecaria cochinchinensis is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It is sometimes referred to by the common names Chinese croton, blindness tree, buta buta, and jungle fire plant. It is native to Southeast China, Hainan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It is a subtropical evergreen shrub with a woody stem, growing up to 1–2 meters (3.3–6.6 ft) high. Its leaves are opposite, their texture shiny and papery, the upper surface dark green or variegated and the underside a deep maroon. The leaves measure 6–14 cm by 2–4 cm (2.4–5.5 in by 0.8–1.6 in). It is dioecious.
Excoecaria cochinchinensis is cultivated as an ornamental tropical plant, greenhouse plant, or houseplant. A popular colorful cultivar is "Firestorm."
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Excoecaria cochinchinensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
