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General information | Known hazards | Botanical references | Cultivation details |
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It is a deciduous tree with a dense, spreading, rather flat crown that grows up to 35 metres in height | Dry sawdust from the tree causes the irritation of the nose in addition to smoke from the wood, which also causes irritation of eyes | Range | Mainly found in region with average rainfall of 900–1,900 mm with dry season of about 3 to 4 months and average annual temperature of 11–26oc |
Unbuttressed, cylindrical bole of up to 120 cm in diameter | | East tropical Africa | Favours light, deep, and well-drained soils and the established croton plants are tolerant to the drought |
It is a multipurpose tree useful to the native community in East Africa through provision of firewood, medicine, and timber | | Eastern DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and southern Somalis, south to Zambia and Mozambique | In Kenya, the seedlings reach the height of 1.7 metres with in one year, while in Rwanda, it reaches 3 metres tall within 2 years |
Currently, there is interest in the large-scale planting programme majorly in Kenya and Tanzania for biofuel production as well as commercial feeds for poultry from seeds | | Habitat | Croton trees start flowering at age of 4 years |
| | Dominate upper-canopy tree of evergreen and semideciduous forest elevation from 700 to 2,400 metres | Management of tree is by lopping, pollarding, and coppicing |
| | Properties | There are no known edible uses |
| | It is a weed potential and has a fast growth rate | |
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