This bush may attain a height of 15 feet enhancing the corner of any tropical garden. It is sometimes used as a medicine to combat ringworm. The crotons are mostly brilliant ornamental shrubs and are a popular garden plant. The glossy leathery leaves are veined, striped and splashed with reds, copper, green, off-white and yellow. They change colour as they age and plants produce the strongest colours in direct sun.
Some leaves are wavy and others flat or even twisted.
The flowers are inconspicuous with the sexes separate. The calabash tree produces a fruit consisting of a thin but hard woody global shell which can be used as a bowl, dipper, or other utensil. They are frequently used for holding water. The gourds get to be more than 12 inches in diameter and can be used as large rattles if dried intact. The flowers are bell-shaped each about 2 inches wide and are pale yellow and purple and have an unpleasant odor.