Croton argenteusL.

silver July croton

WFO wfo-0000927332 Accepted WFO 2026-06 6 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–f · 3 observations

This species has been photographed under an open licence only 3 times, so some figures below are different views of the same plant, taken on the same day, rather than different individuals. They are usually different parts of it: the leaf, the flower, the bark.

Croton argenteus, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. a Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / 2019-07-02 / obs. 44387050
Croton argenteus, photographed by Miguel Angel Ramírez Guillermo
fig. b Miguel Angel Ramírez Guillermo, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 127891517
Croton argenteus, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. c Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 44387052
Croton argenteus, photographed by Annika Lindqvist
fig. d Annika Lindqvist, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 44387056
Croton argenteus, photographed by Miguel Angel Ramírez Guillermo
fig. e Miguel Angel Ramírez Guillermo, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 127891378
Croton argenteus, photographed by Andre Hosper
fig. f Andre Hosper, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 9497763

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 23 botanical countries

Regions where Croton argenteus is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Chile Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralChile CentralColombiaCosta RicaHondurasNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruUruguayVenezuela
Native distribution of Croton argenteus, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Chile Central CLC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Honduras HON
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 26 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Cicca argentea (L.) Kuntze
  • Cicca montevidensis (Klotzsch ex Baill.) Kuntze
  • Cieca argentea Kuntze
  • Cieca montevidensis (Klotzsch ex Baill.) Kuntze
  • Croton atwoodianus F.Seym.
  • Croton integer (Chodat) Radcl.-Sm. & Govaerts
  • Heterochlamys quinquenervia Turcz.
  • Heterochlamys quinquinervis Turcz.
  • Julocroton argenteus (L.) Didr.
  • Julocroton argenteus var. managuensis Ram.Goyena
  • Julocroton camporum Chodat & Hassl.
  • Julocroton elaeagnoides S.Moore
  • Julocroton integer Chodat
  • Julocroton integer f. parvifolia Chodat & Hassl.
  • Julocroton linearifolius (Chodat & Hassl.) Croizat
  • Julocroton montevidensis Klotzsch ex Baill.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. elata Chodat & Hassl.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. genuinus Müll.Arg.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. glabra Herter
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. guatemalensis Müll.Arg.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. lanceolatus Müll.Arg.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. linearifolius Chodat & Hassl.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. pilosus Müll.Arg.
  • Julocroton montevidensis var. virgatus Chodat & Hassl.

and 2 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.