California croton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids California croton
Staminate flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malpighiales
Family:	Euphorbiaceae
Genus:	Croton
Species:	C. californicus
Binomial name
Croton californicus Muell.Arg.
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The Croton californicus, also known as the California croton, is a cool plant found in the deserts and along the coastlines of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Baja California. It's a type of plant called a croton.

This plant is either a perennial (meaning it lives for more than two years) or a small shrub. It usually doesn't grow taller than about one meter (which is about 3 feet). Its leaves are long and oval-shaped, only a few centimeters long, and they have a soft, light-colored fuzzy coating.

How it Grows and Makes Seeds

The California croton is a special kind of plant because it is dioecious. This means that individual plants are either male or female. A male plant will only have male flowers, and a female plant will only have female flowers.

Male and Female Flowers

Both the male and female flowers are super tiny, only a few millimeters across.

• Male flowers (called staminate flowers) look like small cups. They are filled with thin, yellowish parts called stamens, which produce pollen.
• Female flowers (called pistillate flowers) are rounded and lobed. These are actually the young fruits that will later hold the seeds. They are surrounded by tiny, pointed leaf-like parts called sepals.

See also

In Spanish: Croton californicus para niños