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Taxon:  Jatropha curcas L.



Summary
Genus:
Jatropha
Family:
Euphorbiaceae
Subfamily:
Crotonoideae
Tribe:
Jatropheae
Nomen number:
20692
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:1006. "Gurcas"; 2: errata. 1753
Verified:
09/05/2013 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
2 (0  active, 0  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Adams, C. Flowering plants of Jamaica. 1972
  2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
  3. Balakrishnan, N. P. & T. Chakrabarty. The family Euphorbiaceae in India; a synopsis of its profile, taxonomy and bibliography. 2007
  4. Balick, M. J. et al. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize, with common names and uses. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 85. 2000
  5. Correa, J. E. & H. Y. Bernal. 1992. Especies vegetales promisorias de los paises del Convenio Andres Bello. 1989-1998 7:542-576.
  6. Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:151-158.
  7. Delgado-Montoya, J. L. & E. Parado-Tejada. 1989. Potential multipurpose agroforestry crops identified for the Mexican tropics. In: G. E. Wickens et al., New crops for food and industry. New crops for food and industry. 1989 166-168.
  8. Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002
  9. Duke, J. A. 1999. pers. comm.
  10. Duke, J. A. Handbook of Nuts. CRC Press. 1989
  11. Erhardt, W. et al. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen. 2008
  12. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  13. Govaerts, R. et al. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae. 2000
  14. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm.
  15. Heller, J. 1996. Physic nut. Jatropha curcas L. Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 1996- 1:1-66.
  16. Howard, R. Flora of the lesser Antilles. 1974-1989
  17. Janick, J. & J. Simon, eds. Advances in new crops. 1990
  18. Kartesz, J. T. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 1994
  19. Kellerman, T. S. et al. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa. 1988
  20. Killeen, T. J. et al. Guia de arboles de Bolivia. 1993
  21. Kingsbury, J. M. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. 1964
  22. Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. 1985
  23. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium. Hortus third. 1976
  24. Liogier, A. H. Flora of Hispaniola: Part 1; La Flora de la Española. Part II-. 1981-
  25. Liogier, H. A. Descriptive flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands. 1984-
  26. Mabberley, D. J. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2. 1997
  27. Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. Flora of Peru. 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
  28. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
  29. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
  30. Missouri Botanical Garden. W³Tropicos (on-line resource).
  31. Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). 1989- 12(1):324.
  32. Parrotta, J. A. Healing plants of peninsular India. 2001
  33. Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. Noxious weeds of Australia. 1992
  34. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  35. Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994
  36. Reitz, R., ed. Flora ilustrada catarinense. 1965-
  37. Royal Tropical Institute. 2007. Sustainable biofuel in Mali.
  38. Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. Flora of Guatemala. 1946-1976
  39. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. Flora of tropical East Africa. 1952-
  40. Vasquez, R. & J. A. Duke. Amazonian ethnobotanical dictionary. 1994
  41. Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. World economic plants: a standard reference (on-line edition) [medicinal plants only].
  42. Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74. 1996, 1999
  43. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Common names
English
Barbados-nut –
bubblebush –
physicnut –
purgenut –
purgingnut –
French
fève d'enfer –
grand pignon d'Inde –
gros ricin –
médicinier –
médicinier béni –
médicinier barrière –
médicinier purgatif –
pignon d'Inde –
purghère –
German
Purgiernuß –
Termitenbaum –
India
ratanjyor –
Portuguese
galamaluco –
grão-de-maluco –
purgueira –
ricino-major –
Portuguese (Brazil)
manduri-graça –
pinhão-de-cerca –
pinhão-de-purga –
pinhão-manso –
pinhão-paraguaio –
Spanish
frailejón –
piñón –
piñón blanco –
tártago –
Swahili
mbono –
Swedish
oljejatrofa –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeNorthern America Mexico  
1NativeSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaBelize  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaCosta Rica  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaEl Salvador  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaGuatemala  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaHonduras  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaNicaragua  
1NativeSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaArgentina  
1NativeSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaParaguay  
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaBolivia  
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  
2Cultivated     
4Naturalized     
Native
Northern America
  • REGION: Mexico
Southern America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil
  • MESOAMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Paraguay
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Peru
Cultivated ()
Naturalized ()
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Environmentalboundary/barrier/support PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Environmentalerosion control PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Fuelspotential as petroleum substitute/alcohol Royal Tropical Institute. 2007. Sustainable biofuel in Mali.
Harmful organism hostcrop pests Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. Noxious weeds of Australia. 1992
Materialslipids Mabberley, D. J. The plant-book: a portable dictionary of the vascular plants, ed. 2. 1997
Materialstannin/dyestuff Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA). 1989- 12(1):324.
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000
Vertebrate poisonsfish PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Vertebrate poisonsmammals PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=20692. Accessed 21 July 2025.


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