Taxon: Jatropha gossypiifolia L.

Summary

Genus:

Jatropha

Family:

Euphorbiaceae

Subfamily:

Crotonoideae

Tribe:

Jatropheae

Nomen number:

20696

Place of publication:

Sp. pl. 2:1006. 1753, nom. cons.

Comment:

conserved (nom. cons.) with a conserved type (Shenzhen ICN Art. 14.3 & App. IV) through conservation of the genus Jatropha

Typification:

View in Linnean Typification Project

Verified:

09/05/2013 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

3 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Autonym(s)
Jatropha gossypiifolia L. var. gossypiifolia

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Jatropha gossypiifolia L. var. staphysagrifolia (Mill.) Müll. Arg.
Jatropha staphysagrifolia Mill.

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Brummitt, R. K. 1995. Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 43. Taxon 44:612. Note: conservation recommended
Burger, W. C., ed. 1971-. Flora costaricensis.
Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Duke, J. A. 1999. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
Everest, S. L. 1981. Poisonous plants of Australia. Note: poisonous
Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Hecker, E. 1987. Tumour promoters of cancer irritant diterpene esters type as risk factors of cancer in man. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 94:213.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Jarvis, C. E. 1992. Seventy-two proposals for the conservation of types of selected Linnaean generic names, the report of Subcommittee 3C on the lectotypification of Linnaean generic names. Taxon 41:564. Note: proposed as conserved type
Kingsbury, J. M. 1964. Poisonous plants of the United States and Canada. Note: poisonous
Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants Note: poisonous
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Moldenke, H. N. 1951. Poisonous plants of the world. Pamphlet, 3rd ed. Note: poisonous
Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):325.
Parsons, W. T. & E. G. Cuthbertson. 1992. Noxious weeds of Australia Inkata Press, Melbourne, Australia.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	bellyache-bush	1	Hecker, E. 1987. Tumour promoters of cancer irritant diterpene esters type as risk factors of cancer in man. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 94:213.
English	black physicnut	1	Duke, J. A. 1999. pers. comm. Note: re. common names
English	cotton-leaf physicnut	1	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Portuguese (Brazil)	erva-purgante	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	mamoninha	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	peão-roxo	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	pião-roxo	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	pinhão-roxo	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)	raiz-de-tiu	2	Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanish	piñón negro	2	Duke, J. A. 1999. pers. comm. Note: re. common names

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.
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. 87:732.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca	Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.
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. 87:732.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominica		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominican Republic		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Guadeloupe		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Haiti		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Kitts and Nevis		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Lucia		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Trinidad and Tobago		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico	Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
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
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana		Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru		Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae

Native
Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán de Ocampo, Oaxaca, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Guyana, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Paraguay

Reference(s)

Dehgan, B. 2012. Jatropha (Euphorbiaceae). Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110:45-55.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2000. World checklist and bibliography of Euphorbiaceae
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:732.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Medicines	folklore		Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):325.
Medicines	folklore		Duke, J. A. et al. 2002. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs
Medicines	folklore	contains irritants	Hecker, E. 1987. Tumour promoters of cancer irritant diterpene esters type as risk factors of cancer in man. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 94:213.
Vertebrate poisons	mammals		Lampe, K. F. & M. A. McCann. 1985. AMA handbook of poisonous and injurious plants Note: poisonous
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia

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=20696. Accessed 12 May 2026.