jatropha

jatropha

plant
 (genus Jatropha), member of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae), native in both New World and Old World tropics and containing about 175 species of milky-juiced herbs, shrubs, and trees, some useful for their oils or as ornamental plants in tropical gardens.

      A garden curiosity is tartogo, or gouty jatropha (J. podagrica), from Guatemala and Honduras; it has a short trunk that is swollen at the base, erect red clusters of small flowers borne most of the year, and three- to five-lobed palmate (fanlike) leaves. The coral plant (J. multifida) from South America is outstanding for its huge, deeply cut, 11-lobed leaves on plants, 3 m (10 feet) tall, bearing small, coral-red clusters of flowers.

      The peregrina (J. integerrima) from Cuba, about 5 m tall with spadelike leaves sharply lobed at the base, bears crimson flower clusters the year round. J. berlandieri, a perennial 30 cm (12 inches) tall distributed from Texas to Central America, is characterized by long-stalked, purple flowers.

      The barbados nut (J. curcas), with yellow-green flowers and three- to five-lobed leaves on trees 6 m tall from Mexico and Central America, produces seeds from which cooking oil, soap, and a strong purgative are obtained. The seeds themselves are eaten if thoroughly roasted to remove the poison. The lac (a resinous substance) produced by a scale insect that feeds on the leaves is used to make a fine varnish for guitars.

      The closely related genus Cnidosculos is distinguished from Jatropha by the absence of petals in the flowers, though the sepals form a corolla-like bloom.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jatropha — Jatropha …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jatropha — integerrima Systematik Eurosiden I Ordnung: Malpighienartige (Malpighiales) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • jatropha — ● jatropha nom masculin Nom générique d euphorbiacées, herbacées ou arbustives, d Amérique tropicale, aux fleurs le plus souvent unisexuées. (Le fruit est une capsule à trois coques.Jatropha curcas, encore appelé médicinier ou ricin d Amérique,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Jatrŏpha — (spr. J atropha, I. L.), Pflanzengatt. aus der Familie der Euphorbiaceae Crotoneae, Monocle, Monadelphie L.; Arten: I. Curcas s. Curcas Adans. u. I. multifida (Adenorhopium multifidum), südamerikanische, in allen Theisen giftige Bäume, deren… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Jātropha — J. Hüll. (Brechnuß, Purgiernuß, Drüsenstrauch), Gattung der Euphorbiazeen, Bäume, Sträucher oder Kräuter mit abwechselnden, gestielten, ganzen oder fingerförmig gelappten oder geteilten Blättern, monözischen Blüten in meist trugdoldig rispigen… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Jatropha — Jatrŏpha L., Pflanzengattg. der Euphorbiazeen. J. curcas L. oder Curcas purgans Endl., in trop. Ländern kultiviert, liefert das Purgier oder Brechnüsse, deren Samen purgierend und brechenerregend wirken; das Öl dient zum Schmieren, Brennen etc. J …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Jatropha — podagrica …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jatropha — Taxobox name = Jatropha image width = 250px image caption = Spicy jatropha ( Jatropha integerrima ) regnum = Plantae divisio = Magnoliophyta classis = Magnoliopsida ordo = Malpighiales familia = Euphorbiaceae subfamilia = Crotonoideae tribus =… …   Wikipedia

  • Jatropha —   Jatropha Jatropha …   Wikipedia Español

  • Jatropha — noun a mainly tropical genus of American plant belonging to the family Euphorbiaceae • Syn: ↑genus Jatropha • Hypernyms: ↑rosid dicot genus • Member Holonyms: ↑Euphorbiaceae, ↑family Euphorbiaceae, ↑spurge family …   Useful english dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”