page_title: Jatropha
section_title: Selected species
hierarchical_section_title: Jatropha / Selected species
caption_attribution_description: English: Buddha belly plant, gout plant, purging-nut, Guatemalan rhubarb, Tartogo or goutystalk nettlespurge Jatropha podagrica at Lotus Pond, Hyderabad, India.
context_page_description: Jatropha is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. The name is derived from the Greek words ἰατρός, meaning "physician", and τροφή, meaning "nutrition", hence the common name physic nut. Another common name is nettlespurge. It contains approximately 170 species of succulent plants, shrubs and trees. Most of these are native to the Americas, with 66 species found in the Old World. Plants produce separate male and female flowers. As with many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha contains compounds that are highly toxic. Jatropha species have traditionally been used in basketmaking, tanning and dye production. In the 2000s, one species, Jatropha curcas, generated interest as an oil crop for biodiesel production and also medicinal importance when used as lamp oil; native Mexicans in the Veracruz area developed by selective breeding a Jatropha curcas variant lacking the toxic compounds, yielding a better income when used as source for Biodiesel, because of its edible byproduct. Toxicity may return if edible Jatropha is pollinated by toxic types.
context_section_description: Jatropha acanthophylla Loefgr.
  Jatropha bullockii E.J.Lott
  Jatropha cardiophylla (Torr.) Müll.Arg. – Sangre de Cristo
  Jatropha cathartica Terán & Berland. – Berlandier's nettlespurge
  Jatropha chamelensis Pérez-Jiménez
  Jatropha costaricensis G.L.Webster & Poveda
  Jatropha cinerea (Ortega) Müll.Arg. – Arizona nettlespurge
  Jatropha cuneata Wiggins & Rollins – Limberbush, haat (pronounced [ʔaːt])
  Jatropha curcas L. – Physic nut, piñoncillo, habb-el-melúk
  Jatropha dhofarica Radcl.-Sm.
  Jatropha dioica Sessé – Leatherstem
  Jatropha elliptica (Pohl) Oken
  Jatropha excisa Griseb.
  Jatropha gossypiifolia L. – Bellyache bush
  Jatropha hernandiifolia Vent. – Wild oilnut
  Jatropha integerrima Jacq. syn. J. pandurifolia – Spicy jatropha, called in Chinese "ri ri ying", which means "every-day-flowered cherry blossom"
  Jatropha macrantha Mull. Arg – Huanarpo macho or Peruvian Viagra
  Jatropha macrorhiza Benth. – Ragged nettlespurge
  Jatropha multifida L. – Coralbush
  Jatropha nudicaulis Benth.
  Jatropha podagrica Hook. – Buddha belly plant, bottleplant shrub
  Jatropha unicostata Balf.f.
caption: Jatropha podagrica in Hyderabad, India.
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