Taxon: Cnidoscolus aconitifolius (Mill.) I. M. Johnst.

Summary

Genus:

Cnidoscolus

Family:

Euphorbiaceae

Subfamily:

Crotonoideae

Tribe:

Manihoteae

Nomen number:

70189

Place of publication:

Contr. Gray Herb. 68:86. 1923

Verified:

07/18/1988 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

2 (1 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Jatropha aconitifolia Mill.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Burger, W. C., ed. 1971-. Flora costaricensis.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Ross-Ibarra, J. & A. Molina-Cruz. 2002. The ethnobotany of chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius ssp. aconitifolius Breckon): a nutritious Maya vegetable. Econ. Bot. 56:350-365.
Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
Webster, G. L. & M. J. Huft. 1988. Revised synopsis of Panamanian Euphorbiaceae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75:114.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	cabbage-star	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
English	tree-spinach	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	manioc bâtard	2	Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Spanish	chaya	2	Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Spanish	copapayo	2	Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
4	Naturalized					natzd. elsewhere	Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador

Naturalized (natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:726.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Human food	vegetable	Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Human food	vegetable	Standley, P. C. & J. A. Steyermark. 1946-1976. Flora of Guatemala.
Human food	vegetable	Burger, W. C., ed. 1971-. Flora costaricensis.

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=70189. Accessed 11 May 2026.