Elliptical Rushfoil

Croton willdenowii

Found in granitic flatrocks, diabase barrens, calcareous barrens, thin soils around other rock outcrops, open woodlands, disturbed sandy soil. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

Strong

Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 76%

Light: Full sun
Soil moisture: Dry

Will it fit your yard?

Croton willdenowii — fruit photograph — DouglasGoldman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original photograph

At a glance

Bloom: June to October

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Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

Height: NC species account not read yet.

Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 4 Florida counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.

1 of 4

Solution pits on granite. Shown: Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Solution pits, Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve, DeKalb County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Habitats

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops; glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock; glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone; cliffs, ledges and rocky summits; forests and woodlands.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL

Genus host records with ranges including FL · Croton

Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
Anaea andriaGoatweed Leafwing , Goatweed Leaf Wing
Anaea troglodytaFlorida Leafwing, Florida Leaf Wing
Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Oxydia vesuliaSpurge Spanworm Moth
Seirarctia echoEcho Moth
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Strymon acisBartrams Scrub-Hairstreak

Show all 13

Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx
Anacampsis argyrothamniella

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

13BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Croton

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Croton

Perdita crotonis

Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0

20BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Croton

Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
Anthus spragueiiSprague's Pipit
Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
Cardinalis sinuatusPyrrhuloxia
Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Francolinus francolinusBlack Francolin
Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush

Show all 20

Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
Spinus psaltriaLesser Goldfinch
Sturnus vulgarisEuropean Starling
Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Euphorbiaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Bloom · “June to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Soil · “Dry (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia

Also known as

Crotonopsis elliptica; Glade Croton; Willdenows Croton

Conservation status

Florida rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Elliptical Rushfoil

At a glance

Natural habitats

Habitats

Who uses this plant?

Plant details

Conservation status

Will it fit your yard?

Sources

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