126 SPURGE FAMILY 



poinsettias, a phyllanthus whose delicate foliage ranges 

 from white and green to pink and brown, and several 

 plants of peculiar cactus-like form. The castor oil plant 

 or palma Christi, Bicinus communis, becomes a small 

 tree in Florida, and often escapes from cultivation. Cas- 

 sava is noted for its thick roots from which tapioca is 

 made. Seeds of the recently introduced tung-oil trees, 

 Aleurites, yield oils used in varnishes and other prod- 

 ucts. 



Edible fruits and roots, medicines, poisons, oils, and 

 rubber are obtained from this large and varied family. The 

 sap is milky in many species. The minute flowers are 

 extremely varied in form. The capsule is usually three- 

 lobed and three-celled, and contains three or six seeds, 

 which are capped at one end by a small protuberance 

 called the caruncle. 



Oil- Weed. Nettle-Cure. Healing Croton. Cancek- 



Weed (Genus Croton) 



Among our small native crotons is one whose unusual 

 properties have won for it a variety of names. The branch- 

 ing plants, of yellowish or brownish green, are locally 

 common in dry soil, and are remarkable in being covered, 

 especially on the lower surface of the leaves, with silvery 

 stellate scales, which are interesting and beautiful when 

 seen through a magnifying glass. 



The sap is a country remedy for cuts and scratches. 

 For this purpose the stems are broken and the sap is 

 allowed to drip on the cut, where it forms a thin, tenacious 

 coating. 



Croton argyTanthemus. Flowers minute, whitish, in cylin- 

 drical terminal racemes 1-2 in. long. Plants 1-2 ft. tall. 

 Leaves alternate, entire, stalked, oval or oblong, 1-2 in. long. 

 Dry soil. Blooming all the year. Fla. and Ga. to Texas. 



