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Jatropha curcas
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Family:
EUPHORBIACEAE
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Citation: Jatropha curcas L., Sp. Pl. 1006. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 5: 383. 1887; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1340(937). 1925; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 258. 1982; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 368. 1984; Ansari, Fl. Kasaragod Div. 340. 1985; Ramach. & V.J. Nair, Fl. Cannanore Dist. 420. 1988; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 362. 1989; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 719. 1990; Vajr., Fl. Palghat Dist. 431. 1990; M. Mohanan & Henry, Fl. Thiruvanthapuram 418. 1994; Subram., Fl. Thenmala Div. 330. 1995; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 625. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Chinnar WLS 286. 1999; Anil Kumar et al., Fl. Pathanamthitta 448. 2005; N.P.Balakr. & Chakrab., Fam. Euphorbiaceae India 223. 2007; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 637. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 742. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Kadalavanakku, Kammatti, Kattuvanakku, Nanchupathal
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Barbados nut, Curcas nut, Physic nut, Purging nut, Jatropha
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Description:
Glabrous shrubs with an acrid latex; bark smooth, greenish-white, peeling off in thin flakes. Leaves shallowly 5-lobed or entire, 8-15 x 6-12 cm, orbicular or subcordate, base truncate to cordate, margin serrate, apex acute, basally 5-nerved; petiole 5-15 cm long. Flowers yellowish-green in terminal or axillary, monoecious panicled cymes; peduncle 6-12 cm long. Tepals 10, biseriate; outer tepals 3-4 x 1-2 mm, equal in male and unequal in female; inner 5-7 x 2.5-3 mm, oblong or obovate. Stamens 10; filaments unequal, united into a central column. Ovule solitary in each cell; styles 3, 2-fid. Disc-glands 5. Capsule c. 2.5 cm long, ellipsoid, rugose on drying.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
May-August
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Often grown as live fence posts
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Distribution:
Native of Tropical America; now widespread in Paleotropics
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow, Green
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Karimutty, Tiruvalla, Tolpetty, Kuthuparamba, Kalliassey, Chindaki forest, Attappady R.F., Walayar, Ambalapuzha, Cherupuzha, Thenmalai, Ariankavu
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