Hogwort

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Hogwort
Hogwort
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malpighiales Family: Euphorbiaceae Subfamily: Crotonoideae Tribe: Crotoneae Genus: Croton Species: C. capitatus
Binomial name
Croton capitatus

The hogwort (Croton capitatus), also known as the woolly croton is an annual plant with erect, branched stems, densely covered with light brown, wooly hairs that give it a whitish appearance. It grows in dry, open areas, especially sandy and rocky soils. It is distributed across the Southern U.S.A., and elsewhere.

Hogwort contains croton oil, a powerful laxative.

Contents 1 Trivia 2 See also 3 External links 4 References 5 Further reading

[edit] Trivia

British author J. K. Rowling did not deliberately name the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from her Harry Potter series of books after the hogwort. It was only after the books were published that a friend reminded her of seeing the plant in the Kew Gardens many years beforehand. Rowling speculated that the name had remained in her subconscious ever since ^[1].

[edit] See also

• Croton
• List of Croton species

[edit] External links

• Noble Foundation Hogwort page
• Uvalde Research and Extension Center page on the Hogwort

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L., Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press.  ISBN 0-89672-614-2