Croton gratissimus branch with fruit near Oberon, Gauteng

The fruit of Croton gratissimus is a three-lobed capsule that ripens to a yellow colour. It is dehiscent, releasing its seeds in autumn.

The smaller branches or the tree are pale yellow or whitish and brittle. The wood exudes watery latex when broken. The bark on the main stem is pale grey, rougher lower down and deeply fissured.

There are two varieties of this tree, viz. C. gratissimus var. gratissimus that is hairless on the upper leaf surfaces and C. gratissimus var. subgratissimus with hairs branched in star-shaped (stellate) fashion on the upper surfaces (Coates Palgrave, 2002; Schmidt, et al, 2002).