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Stone, Robert L.

Croton texensis

Croton texensis (Klotzsch) Müll. Arg.

Texas Croton, Doveweed, Texas Goatweed

Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: crte4

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

From the Image Gallery

7 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual
Habit: Herb
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Lanceolate , Linear
Leaf Margin: Entire
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 3 feet tall.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov

Distribution

USA: AL , AZ , CO , FL , IA , IL , KS , MA , MO , NE , NM , OK , SD , TX , UT , WY
Native Habitat: Sandy loam, loose blowing sand.

Benefit

Use Wildlife: Seeds are important dove and quail food.
Use Medicinal: A natural insecticide derived by burning the powdered leaves, the smoke drives away all flying and crawling insects. (Weiner) Tea from leaves for stomach pains. Leaf tea to bathe sick babies. Tea of entire plant as a purgative, to relieve stomach pains, and to stimulate kidneys, and to cure snakebite. (Kindscher) Tea from leaves used for stomach ache. Also tea used for syphilis and gonorrhea: drink, run rapidly aa mile to induce sweating, then wrap in blanket. For rattlesnake bites, medicine man chews root, then sucks wound to remove venom, then applies more chewed root to wound.(Steiner)
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Anaea andria, Goatweed Leafwing

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Goatweed Leafwing
(Anaea andria)

Larval Host

Learn more at BAMONA

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Stengl Biological Research Station - Smithville, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 0129 Collected Sept. 9, 1991 in Bexar County by Lottie Millsaps
NPSOT 1085 Collected Aug 31, 1996 in Bexar County by Robert N. Nelson

2 specimen(s) available in the Digital Herbarium

Bibliography

Bibref 1207 - Earth Medicine, Earth Food (1990) Michael A. Weiner
Bibref 610 - Edible wild plants of the prairie : an ethnobotanical guide (1987) Kindscher, K.
Bibref 1211 - Folk Medicine: The Art and the Science (1985) Richard P. Steiner

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Croton texensis in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Croton texensis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Croton texensis

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-02-03
Research By: TWC Staff

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