Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Unique tree, 1 by johnpeten

johnpeten wrote:
From the description in the Guatemalan Flora my plant is a Codiaeum variegatum.
A shrub or small tree; leaves lustrous, on petioles 1-4 cm. long, exceedingly
variable in shape and coloring, ovate-oblong or obovate-oblong to elliptic,
spatulate, or linear, often shallowly lobate or crispate, penninerved, green or variously colored with white, yellow, pink, red, or purple.
This is part of the comment:-
This well-known ornamental plant of the tropics is abundant everywhere
in the Guatemalan lowlands, being much grown in hedges or
as an ornamental shrub. In the Pacific bocacosta there are many
long roadside hedges bordering the fincas and coffee plantations.
The plant grows easily and thrives with little or no attention. It
is sometimes found more or less naturalized, probably about the
sites of former dwellings. The shrub is grown commonly in the
warmer parts of the United States, especially in Florida, where it
is known by the name Croton, although it is not closely related to
plants of that genus.
This is the first time that I have noticed a very insignificant flower and certainly no berries.
My plant is a loner so there has been no natural propagation.
In view of the comments above no special attention was probably paid to cuttings. It is normal here to cut a piece of a woody plant and poke it into the ground and it grows. Living fences are created in this way.
Also my plant does not have an oozing milky sap like many members of the family. The sap is clear and quickly dries sealing the end of the cutting.
Thank you for your interest Dale.