Synonyms: 

Antidesma bicolor Hassk.

Excoecaria bicolor (Hassk.) Zoll. ex Hassk.

Systematic Position

Kingdom:  Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Order: Malpighiales Juss. ex Bercht. & J. Presl

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Native: China and Japan

Common Names

English – Chinese croton

Malayalam –

Description: A plant with glossy green leaves and red stems. Evergreen shrub, able to grow to 1 – 2 m tall. Leaves lanceolate in shaped, opposite arrangement, measuring about 7 – 10 cm long, green on the top and maroon underneath. Small green flowers in axillary or terminal racemes. Fruit is a globose capsule, measuring about 8 mm wide. 

Habitat: Evergreen shrub .

Distribution: India, Southern China and Taiwan to Vietnam, Thailand

Uses: This species is used in traditional medicine for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. It is used in herbal medicine to treat gastric ulcers. The plant is considered as poisonous, especially the exudate. However, it has beneficial uses as an antiparasitic, antipruritic, and haemostatic treatment.