Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae)

Jatropha curcas
(Euphorbiaceae)
Barbados nut, bubble bush, physic nut, purging nut

HEAR home > species info > plants > Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae)

Species description or overview	Taxonomy & nomenclature	Impacts	Risk assessments
Legislation	Images	Distribution	Other resources

Jatropha curcas is a large shrub (up to over 9 feet tall) with small, yellow-green flowers, and poisonous seeds. This plant has potential for use as a biofuel producer.

Species description or overview

Jatropha curcas information from PIER
Information on Jatropha curcas as relevant to Pacific Islands is provided by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER).

Taxonomy & nomenclature

GRIN nomenclature info for Jatropha curcas
Nomenclatural information about Jatropha curcas is provided by USDA/ARS/NGRP/GRIN.

ITIS nomenclature info for Jatropha curcas
Nomenclatural information about Jatropha curcas is provided by ITIS.

IPNI nomenclature info for Jatropha curcas
Nomenclatural information about Jatropha curcas is provided by The International Plant Names Index (IPNI).

Impacts

Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae): species information from GCW
Information on Jatropha curcas as relevant to Pacific Islands is provided by the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Risk assessments

Jatropha curcas weed risk assessment for Hawaii/Pacific
A weed risk assessment of Jatropha curcas assessment for Hawaii/Pacific ranks this species to be "high risk" for invasiveness.

Legislation

Western Australia bans Jatropha curcas
Western Australia's Agriculture Protection Board has placed a state-wide ban on two plants being used as sources of biodiesel feedstock. WA claims the Bellyache bush and physic nut (Jatropha curcas) are both invasive plants, highly toxic to humans and livestock.

Images

Images of Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae) (physic nut, Barbados nut)
Links to high-resolution free images of Jatropha curcas (Euphorbiaceae) (physic nut, Barbados nut) by Forest & Kim Starr (USGS) are available here.

Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands info for Jatropha curcas
The Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands website presents information about Ipomoea ochracea in Hawaii.

Jatropha curcas images from PIER
Images of Jatropha curcas provided by the Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk project (PIER).

Distribution

Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands info for Jatropha curcas
The Smithsonian Flora of the Hawaiian Islands website presents information about Ipomoea ochracea in Hawaii.

Other resources

"Say no to Jatropha" discussion forum
"This Group is for discussion on all the negative aspects of so-called Bio-diesel crop Ratanjot (Jatropha).The members will find all the negatvie information about this exotic plant at one place."

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