Jatropha curcas

Description

Bark is pale brown, papery, peeling. Slash exudes copious watery latex, soapy to tough but soon becoming brittle and brownish when dry. Branches are glaucous-gray, glabrous, sparsely lenticellate, ascending, stout. Leaves are alternate and palmate with 2-20 cm long petioles and minute stipules. Blade is 3-5 lobed, 12.5-18 x 11-16 cm, lobes acute or shortly acuminate at the apex, margins entire or undulating, leaf base deeply cordate, glabrous or pubescent only on the veins below, palmate veins 5-9, prominent, venation reticulate. Inflorescence is a terminal or axillary umbel-like cyme, 6-10 cm, often paired, with a solitary female flower terminating each major axis and many male flowers on lateral branches. Bracts are lanceolate, 4-8 mm. Flowers are unisexual, regular, 5-merous, greenish yellow, sepals and petals present. Sepals are free and 6 mm long in female flower, smaller and connate at base in male flowers. Petals are oblong, green-yellow, ca. 6 mm, connate to middle, hairy inside. Stamens are 10. Fruit is a broadly ellipsoid capsule 2.5-3 cm × c. 2 cm, smooth-skinned, initially fleshy and green, turning yellow and eventually dry and black, late dehiscent, 3-seeded. Seeds ellipsoid, 1-2 cm long, mottled black and coarsely pitted.

Source: Pinkka e-learning: Tropical Plants of Economic Importance (AGRI-247) - Angiosperms: dicots CC BY 4.0

Growing form

A perennial, monoecious shrub or small tree up to 6 m tall.

Source: Pinkka e-learning: Tropical Plants of Economic Importance (AGRI-247) - Angiosperms: dicots CC BY 4.0

The map represents observations of this taxon, but it may not be used as a distribution map.

squares
Observations
  • Total squares
Checklist
FinBIF master checklist
Scientific name
Jatropha curcas
Author
L.
Vernacular names
  • öljyjatropa (Finnish)
Identifier
http://tun.fi/MX.5009566
Taxon rank
species
Expert
  • Jouko Rikkinen
DNA barcode sequences
Jatropha curcas
102 public records
Informal groups
  • Vascular plants