''Leucocroton havanensis'' is an endemic species to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. It is located on serpentine soils and limestone rock in the western and central part of the country. It is an evergreen tree that has

dioecious Dioecy ( ; ; adj. dioecious, ) is a characteristic of certain species that have distinct unisexual individuals, each producing either male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproduction is ...

flowering, meaning the species has distinct male and female individuals. The plant only grows on a small serpentine island.

Cultivation and uses

The uses by this plant are purely for studying and discovering because it is a newly discovered species and much research has to be done to find its uses. However, scientists have discovered that the genus ''Leucocroton'' is a nickel hyperaccumulator, which means it can absorb dangerous amounts of

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

References

Adelieae Endemic flora of Cuba Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Euphorbiaceae-stub