Carried by 2 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora
Croton californicus is a species of croton known by the common name California croton. This plant is a perennial or small shrub not exceeding a meter in height. The plant produces long oval-shaped leaves a few centimeters long and covered in a light-colored coat of hairs. This species is dioecious, with individual plants bearing either male (staminate) or female (pistillate) flowers, both only a few millimeters across. The staminate flowers are tiny cups filled with thready yellowish stamens and the pistillate flowers are the rounded, lobed immature fruits surrounded by tiny pointed sepals. This plant is native to California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California, where it grows in the deserts and along the coastline.
Perennial herb
3 ft Tall
Green
Spring, Summer
Full Sun
Low
Moderate
Fast
Prefers sand or decomposed granite.
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Sandy places, dunes, washes
Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Coastal Strand, Creosote Bush Scrub
Butterflies and moths supported
2 confirmed and 3 likely
Soybean Looper Moth
Chrysodeixis includens
California Tiger Moth
Leptarctia californiae