Sagilala

(Codiaeum variegatum)
SAN FRANCISCO / CROTON
Scientific names

Common names

Ixia chinensis Linn.

Sagilala (Tag.)

Pardanthus chinensis Ker

Croton (Engl.)

Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Rumph.

ex. A. Jussieu Joseph's coat (Engl.)

San Francisco (Span.)
Bian ye mu (Chin.)

Classification:
Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Juss.
Kingdom: Plantae-Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta-Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta-Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta-Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida-Dicotyledons

Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Euphorbiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae - Spurge family
Genus: Codiaeum Juss. - Codiaeum
Species: Codiaeum variegatum (L.) Juss. - Garden Croton
Sagilala is a common name shared by Baston de San Jose (Cordyliine fruticosa) and San
Francisco (Codiaeum variegatum).

Other vernacular names:

FIJI: Sacasaca.
GERMAN: Indischer lorbeer, Indischer wunderstrauch.
INDONESIA: Tarimas, Silastom, Nasalou, Pudieng, Katomas, Daun garida, Uhung, Dahengora,
Abam.
JAPAN: Henyo-boku.
MALAYSIA: Pokok puding, Puding mas.
SAMOA: Ave'ave.
SPANISH: San Francisco, Buenavista.
THAILAND: Kohson.
VIETNAM: Ku kieng.

FACTS
Codiaeum variegatum ("garden croton" or "variegated croton"; syn. Croton variegatum L.) is a
species of plant in the genus Codiaeum, which is a member of the family Euphorbiaceae. It is
native to southern India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the western Pacific Ocean islands,
growing in open forests and scrub. It is an evergreen shrub growing to 3 m tall and has large,
thick, leathery, shiny evergreen leaves, alternately arranged, 530 cm long and 0.58 cm broad.
The inflorescences are long racemes 830 cm long, with male and female flowers on separate
inflorescences; the male flowers are white with five small petals and 2030 stamens, the female
flowers yellowish, with no petals. The fruit is a capsule 9 mm diameter, containing three 6 mm
seeds. The stems contain milky sap that bleeds from cut stems.

The garden crotons should not be confused with Croton, a cosmopolitan genus also in the
Euphorbiaceae, containing more than 700 species of herbs, shrubs and trees.

Botany:
Sagilala is a low branching shrub with attractive and variedly shaped and colored foliage. Leaves
are thick and leathery, ovate, oblong to linear, the margins entire, lobed or spirally twisted.
Young leaves are usually green, yellow or red, later changing to single color or variegation of
gold cream, white, red, maroon, purple, black or brown. Flowers are small, long, axillary, usually
unisexual racemes.

Uses:
Edibility
- Caution: Young leaves are reportedly used in the East Indies as vegetable, but cases of irritation
have been reported. (See toxicity below)
Folkloric
- Freeze-dried leaf decoction taken as tea in the Philippines (Gertrudes, 2006).
- Decoction of crushed leaves for diarrhea.
- Young leaves, with Pandanus macroieacceretia, coconut milk, and root sap of areca catechu
used for gonorrhea.
- Sap of leaves mixed with coconut milk used for syphilitic lesions.
- In Nigeria, root decoction used for gastric ulcers. Leaves, for antibacterial and antiamoebic
uses.
- In the Kagera and Coast regions, used for the treatment of epilepsy.
- In Vanuatu, leaves used for amenorrhea. Chewing of 3 leaves and swallowing the juice used as
emmenagogue, to induce abortion or facilitate parturition. source

Studies:
Phytochemicals: Phytochemical screening of six clone cultivars of Codiaeum variegatum
showed bioactive constituents that included alkaloids, anthraquinones, flavanoids, terpenes,
steroid, phenol, saponins, tannins, phlobatannin and cardenolide which suggests their use as
antibacterial, antiamoebic and antifungal.

 Antiamoebic: In a study of 55 traditional medicinal plants in Cameroon, only the leaves

extract of Codiaeum variegatum exhibited clear antiamoebic activity, more pronounced than
metronidazole.
Anti-influenza: A screening of seven Euphorbiaceae species showed C variegatum to be one of
three with relevant anti-FLUAV activity from an isolated cyanoglucoside.
Anti-convulsant: Study showed methanol extract protected mice against picrotoxin-induced
convulsions.
Immunostimulating / Spermatotoxic: Study on 24 male albino rats with feeds supplemented
by pulverized dry leaves of C variegatum showed immunostimulating and spermatotoxic effects.
Molluscicidal Activity: Study showed the latex of Codiaeum variegatum had high
molluscicidal activity against freshwater snail.
Wound Healing / Root: Study evaluated the wound healing activity of a root incorporated in a
simple ointment in excision, incision, and burn wound models in rats. Results showed
remarkable wound healing activity in measures of wound contracting ability, wound closure
time, and tensile strength.
Antimicrobial Activity: Study evaluated the antibacterial activity of three varieties of
Codiaeum variegatum against six different bacterial strains. Zones of inhibition varied with the
plant varieties. The largest zone of inhibition was seen with a leaf callus extract of var.
Punctatum aureum against Arthrobacter.

Precautions:
As with many of the Euphorbiaceae, the sap is toxic and can cause skin eczema in some people.
It is also toxic if eaten, though in small quantities, it has been used in herbal medicine to treat
gastric ulcers.

Dangerous/Poisonous:
The bark, roots, latex and leaves are poisonous, containing the toxin called 5-deoxyingenol.
Chewing the bark and roots is said to cause burning of the mouth. The latex has caused eczema
in some gardeners after repeated exposure.

Indigenous Practices:
Croton is an exotic looking plant that is grown in warm greenhouses or conservatory or as a
houseplant.