any shrub or tree of the chiefly tropical euphorbiaceous genus Croton, esp C. tiglium, the seeds of which yield croton oil
2.
any of various tropical plants of the related genus Codiaeum, esp C. variegatum pictum, a house plant with variegated foliage
Word origin
C18: from New Latin, from Greek krotōn tick, castor-oil plant (whose berries resemble ticks)
croton in American English
(ˈkroʊtən)
noun
1.
any of a large, mostly tropical genus (Croton) of shrubs, trees, and herbs of the spurge family: certain species yield croton oil and cascarilla, formerly used in medicine, and others are poisonous range weeds in the SW U.S.
2.
any of a genus (Codiaeum) of shrubs of the spurge family, grown for their ornamental, leathery leaves
Word origin
ModL < Gr krotōn, a tick, castor-oil plant or (in pl.) its ticklike seeds