Croton rosmarinoides

Croton rosmarinoides Millsp.

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Habit: Croton rosmarinoides grows as a small to medium shrub up to 3 m in height. The leaves are arranged alternately, linear to sublinear to 3 cm in length with an involute entire margin and rounded leaf apex.  The abaxial leaf surface is brown lepidote.

Croton rosmarinoides is dioecious. The incomplete, imperfect, actinomorphic flowers are arranged in axillary or terminal racemes. Staminate flowers have 5 unfused, green, ciliate, sepals in the calyx.  The corolla has 5 unfused, white petals.  There are 12 stamens and no carpel.  The carpellate flowers have 6 unfused sepals in the calyx. The corolla has 5 unfused white petals. There are no stamens. The superior ovary has 3 locules. The fruit is a 3-parted capsule.

Habitat: Croton rosmarinoides grows on a limestone substrate of Dry Broadleaf Evergreen Formations – Shrublands (scrubland coppice).

Distribution: Croton rosmarinoides occurs in the central island groupings in the Lucayan Archipelago and Cuba.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Croton rosmarinoides is not known to be used medicinally in the Lucayan Archipelago.  It is named Rosemary because of how it looks and not from its taste or use in food.