Tough Lovelies
Crotons in Queensland from the 1870s to Now
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/qre.2012.14Keywords:
Plants under cultivation, hardy croton, hot-house plant, drought tolerantAbstract
When surveying the histories of plants under cultivation, one becomes immediately aware of the vagaries of shifting tastes. So it is with one of my favourite plants: the hardy croton, Codaieum variegatum. It was a popular hot-house plant in Europe during the nineteenth century, when colourful and variegated plants from the far corners of the world were all the rage. In the late part of the nineteenth century, these plants made their way to Australia, and were especially cultivated in Queensland. Even in sub-tropical Brisbane, plants can lose all their leaves in cold snaps during the mild winters, but further north, Queensland has a plant that can offer gardens a wide variety of colour and leaf shape. For a plant from the tropics, they are remarkably drought tolerant and have proved their resilience in both summer's heat and humidity, and our occasional extended droughts.
References
Hortulanus, ‘The Croton’, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 24 August 1929: 14.
http:/www.palmpedia.net.wiki/CROTON_ONLINE_REFERENCE. Accessed 20 February 2012.
‘Among The East Indian Islands’, Brisbane Courier, 20 March 1883: 3.
‘Acclimatisation Society: Exhibits’, Brisbane Courier, 21 January 1876: 3.
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Brisbane Courier, 13 May 1885: 5.
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Brisbane Courier, 15 April 1889: 6; Brisbane Courier, 15 February 1890: 6; Brisbane Courier, 9 October 1894: 7; Brisbane Courier, 12 March 1895: 5.
Brisbane Courier, 11 October 1887: 7.
The palms, eugenias and terminalias were also noted; ‘Notes on a Northern Trip’, Brisbane Courier, 30 December 1899: 11. Smith Greenwood and Purcell auctioned a choice collection ‘from the north’ in rooms at 155 Elizabeth Street. Whether this collection was from Rockhampton, Townsville or even New Guinea is an open question: Brisbane Courier, 14 August 1888: 7.
‘Garden Notes by Hortulanus’, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 14 April 1923: 7.
Hortulanus ‘The Croton’: 18.
‘Queensland National Association: Prize Schedule’, Brisbane Courier, 15 January 1879: 5.
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Jeannie Sim, Brisbane City Botanic Gardens Conservation Study: Final Report, October 1995, 18.
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Eaves, S.H., General Catalogue of Seeds, Plants, Bulbs, Tubers, Trees, Climbers, etc. (Brisbane: E.A. Howard, 1897), 87.
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Nason, L., ‘Crotons for Colour’, Queensland Gardener, Brisbane (June 1966): 3Google Scholar. The article included two photos in black and white but the variety not identified.
L.P. Butt, ‘Crotons Lend Colour to Patio and Garden’, Queensland Gardener (March 1968): 25.
Vince Winkal, ‘Beautiful Crotons: The Living Sunset of the Tropics’, Queensland Garden (April 1975): 8.
Overell, Lilian, A Woman's Impressions of German New Guinea, 2nd ed. (London: John Lane for the Bodley Head, 1923), 7–9.
Brisbane Courier, 6 January 1888: 4.
‘Farm and Garden Notes’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 8 October 1935: 9. This probably refers to the collection of Mr Oscar Swanson, as ‘Hortalanus’ later described a visit by Queensland's Governor and Lady Wilson in ‘Some Fine Crotons’, Townsville Daily Bulletin, 19 July 1938: 4.
Courier-Mail, 24 April 1934: 18.
Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 21 March 1939: 5.
Brisbane Courier, 26 March 1932: 18.
Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 14 February 1935: 12.
Courier-Mail, 23 April 1938: 5.
Courier-Mail, 1 October 1935: 17.
Hortulanus, ‘The Croton’, Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 20 October 1951: 9. He also suggested a system of classification based on leaf type.
Hortulanus, ‘The Croton’.
Courier-Mail, 9 March 1954: 8.
It was similar to the variety now called Norma, but slower growing. Phone conversation with grand-daughter, Cathy Raward, 9 May 2005.
