Bonpland's Croton

Croton bonplandianus

Found in chrome ore piles. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

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At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

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

Recorded in 1 Virginia county.

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Croton

Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
Calycopis cecropsRed-Banded Hairstreak, Cecrops Hairstreak
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
Xylophanes tersaTersa Sphinx

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

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Family not recorded

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

Conservation status

Virginia rank	Not available
Global rank	Not available
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

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Sources