The croton has large, leathery, shiny leaves. Garden crotons come in an amazing diversity of leaf shapes and colors. The leaves may be ovate to linear, entire to deeply lobed, and variegated with green, white, purple, orange, yellow, red or pink. The colors may follow the veins, the margins or they may be in blotches on the leaf. Garden croton occurs naturally in southern Asia, Indonesia and other Eastern Pacific islands where it grows in open forests and scrub. There are several hundred cultivars, selected and bred for their beautiful foliage. They need to be kept warm and humid. In tropical climates, crotons make attractive hedges.