Jatropha curcas
species of plant
Jatropha curcas is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics: Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. It has been spread to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalized or invasive in many areas. The specific epithet, "curcas", was first used by Portuguese physician and naturalist Garcia de Orta more than 400 years ago. Common names in English include physic nut, Barbados nut, poison nut, bubble bush or purging nut. In parts of Africa and areas in Asia such as India it is often known as "castor oil plant" or "hedge castor oil plant", but it is not the same as the castor oil plant, Ricinus communis.
Jatropha curcas is a semi-evergreen shrub or small tree, reaching a height of 6 metres (20 feet) or more. It is resistant to a high degree of aridity, allowing it to grow in deserts. It contains phorbol esters, which are considered toxic. However, edible (non-toxic) varieties native to Mexico also exist, known by the local population as piñón manso, xuta, chutacurcaste, among others. J. curcas also contains compounds such as trypsin inhibitors, phytate, saponins and a type of lectin known as curcin.
“Jatropha curcas” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Jatropha, curcas and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 12, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q74644. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Jatropha curcas” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.