Croton gratissimus is a hardy, deciduous, small to medium sized, drought resistant tree with lovely pale grey bark. It has beautiful silvery-green leaves that glint in the sun and have red spots on the undersides.
A few bright orange leaves adorn the crown at most times of the year. The autumn colours are dark yellow. The beautiful foliage alone make this a worthwhile tree to plant in the garden. The leaves are fragrant when crushed.
The buds are like drooping strings of beads that open into masses of tiny star-like, yellow flowers which peak from July to September, although there are some flowers throughout summer.
The seedpods explode to disperse the seeds, which in turn attract many different birds. This makes a beautiful garden subject but is not freely available.
The leaves are used as perfume and it also has many other medicinal and traditional uses.
Size 2 to 10m