Croton on log

I don't know for sure but I believe that this plant with its root system dug in on and under the log is a croton. I planted it many years ago and I honestly can't remember who gave it to me, but it was someone from Santarém, for sure. I remember seeing one of these plants at one of the local universities (FIT) sometime back and I think it's an exotic from Asia. Planting it on a bare log wasn't too smart on my part. The first few years it did well during the rainy seasons and then nearly died during the dry seasons. In more recent times, the roots have grown down into the ground and now it's looking good, even this time of the year. I don't water it. Water is so scarce, not everything gets it.