Crotons Traditional Cache

This is a new geocache replacing the Mexican Petunia, after both the cache and the plants disappeared. When I placed this cache for the Crotons I noticed some Mexican Petunias still nearby. Enjoy!

The common names for this genus are rushfoil and croton, but the latter also refers to Codiaeum variegatum. It is native to Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands, growing in open forests and scrub. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 m (9.8 ft) tall and has large, thick, leathery, shiny evergreen leaves, alternately arranged, 5–30 cm (2.0–11.8 in) long and 0.5–8 cm (0.20–3.15 in) broad.

The inflorescences are long racemes 8–30 cm (3.1–11.8 in) long, with male and female flowers on separate inflorescences; the male flowers are white with five small petals and 20–30 stamens, the female flowers yellowish, with no petals. The fruit is a capsule 9 mm (0.35 in) diameter, containing three 6 mm (0.24 in) seeds. The stems contain milky sap that bleeds from cut stems.

Toxicity

As with many of the Euphorbiaceae, the sap can cause skin eczema in some people.The bark, roots, latex, and leaves are poisonous. The toxin is the chemical compound 5-deoxyingenol. The plant contains an oil which is violently purgative and is suspected of being a carcinogen. Consumption of the seeds can be fatal to children.

Crotons (Codiaeum variegatum) are tropical plants that grow outdoors in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9b to 11 and as houseplants elsehwere. Growing to a height of 6 to 8 feet and width of 3 to 6 feet, crotons are attractive as a single plant or a grouping and grow well in pots or in the ground. Their green leaves turn into shades of yellow, red and purple, showing their brightest colors in the sunlight. You can grow cultivars of crotons such as "Banana," "Bravo," "Gold Dust," "Icetone Red," "Karen," "Mammy," "Norma," "Petra" and "Sunny Star" in the warm outdoor climates with a few precautions and some care.

The cache is a standard K.E.T. cache, i.e. a tied in camoed pill bottle, with only a rolled log with a rubber band in a sealed plastic bag. No room for SWAG. Please comment on the condition.