210 EUPHORBIACEAE 
long, c. 9 mm diam., finely tuberculate and thinly 
tomentose, with the persistent style bases forming a 
horn-like projection from the apex of each cocci. Seeds 
smooth, brown, ovoid. Flowering: Oct - June; fruit- 
ing: Apr - Oct. Fig. 70 
Choriceras 
Found in the northern NT, Cape York and New 
Guinea. In the DR on Gunn Pt and Melville Is where 
it grows in thickets. Usually in monsoon forest on a 
variety of soils as well as in riparian forest, wetter 
eucalypt forest and in sandstone gorges. 
CLAOXYLON Juss. 
A genus of c. 80 species occurring in the Old World tropics. Three species occur in Australia, with 1 in the 
NT and the DR. 
C. tenerifolium (Baill.) F.Muell. 
A shrub or small tree to 10 m tall; bark rough. Young 
shoots sericeous, glabrescent with age. Branchlets 
pale, glabrous with scattered whitish lenticels. Leaves 
alternate; petioles purplish when dry, 13-133 mm long, 
below junction of blade sparsely tomentose and of- 
ten with 2-4 minute yellowish spine-like glands on 
the dorsal surface; blades discolorous, ovate, elliptic 
or obovate, 116-223 mm long, 62-130 mm wide, L/B 
1.5-2.2, glabrescent, scaberulous, veins turning pur- 
ple when dry, base attenuate, truncate, margin cre- 
nate, with a mucro-like gland in the sinus between 
lobes, each mucro with a vein leading to it, apex acu- 
minate, obtuse or acute. Inflorescence axillary, 
racemose, pubescent, male 35-170 mm long, female 
22-55 mm long. Flowers dioecious. Male flowers: 
membranous, tomentose outside, c. 2 mm long; pet- 
als absent; stamens numerous c. 1.5 mm long; anther 
cells separated and erect. Female flowers: on thick- 
ened pedicels c. 1 mm long, sericeous throughout; 
calyx 3-lobed, lobes triangular, c. 1.5 mm long; 
hypogynous disk 2-3-lobed; ovary 3-locular, with | 
ovule per locule; styles c. 1.5 mm long, divergent, 
shortly connate at base. Fruit a purplish, thinly fleshy 
capsule, depressed globular, c. 5 mm long, 7 mm 
diam., with (2)3 1-seeded locules. Seeds globose, 
white, c. 3 mm long, ecarunculate. Flowering: Nov - 
June; fruiting: Feb - May. Fig. 70 
Occurs from the Kimberley Region to the east coast 
of Qld as far south as Port Curtis, and also in New 
Guinea. Rare in the DR where known only from 
Melville Is. Occurs in monsoon forest, in sandstone 
gorges and on the coast. 
on filiform pedicels to 4 mm long; sepals 3, elliptic, 
CROTON L. 
Deciduous shrubs or small trees, variously stellate hairy or with lepidote scales. Stipules minute. Leaves 
alternate; blades with 2 glands at base. Flowers monoecious, dioecious or a combination of both. Inflores- 
cence racemose, usually terminal. Flowers 5-merous, males with small disk glands, stamens 5-30; females 
often with vestigial petals; ovary 3-locular. Fruit a capsule. Seeds ecarunculate or caruncle small. 
A genus of c. 750 species found in the tropics and subtropics. In Australia there are c. 20 species, with 6 in 
the NT and 5 in the DR. Cultivated plants known as ‘Croton’ usually belong to the genus Codiaeum A. Juss. 
which is introduced to the NT. [Airy Shaw, 1980a, b; Wilmot-Dear, 1987] 
1. Plants with peltate scales; leaf undersurfaces silvery shiny; sepals c. 5 mm long C. argyratus 
1. Plants glabrous, stellate hairy or with stellate scales; sepals <3 mm long .........1:seeee 2 
2. Leaves 2.2-4.5 times as long as wide, almost glabrous, base CUNeAate .........seeeeeeeteeseeees 
2. Leaves usually <2.2 times as long as wide, often densely tomentose, 
baseroundeds truncate sor cOrdatesrcerterssstecssestssesassetaseccstscsestscteencctbesesestotteresseatstcsessstetss 3 
C. sp. aff. dockrillii 
3. Leaf 5-7-nerved at base, margins often crenulate to irregularly serrulate; 
young shoots often rusty or yellow tOMENLOSE .........sceceeseeseeseeseseneeneeteeneteeneerseseraeaees C. arnhemicus 
3. Leaf 3-5-nerved at base, margins finely crenulate; young shoots hoary or green.............. 4 
