Jatropha gossypiifolia var. staphysagrifolia (Mill.) Müll.Arg.

  • Authority

    Dehgan, Bijan. 2012. . Fl. Neotrop. Monogr. 110: 1--274. (Published by NYBG Press)

  • Family

    Euphorbiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Jatropha gossypiifolia var. staphysagrifolia (Mill.) Müll.Arg.

  • Type

    Neotype. Mexico. Antiguá, Sep 1912, C. A. Purpus 6111 (neotype here designated: NY; isoneotypes: F, GH, US, UC).

  • Synonyms

    Jatropha palmata Vell.

  • Description

    Variety Description - Shrubs, to 1.0 m tall. Leaves: 3- to 5-lobed, segments wide ovate, 7.5-15 x 4.5-9.5 cm; bases truncate to shallowly reniform, margins ciliate-glandular; sparsely to densely pubescent on one or both surfaces, developing leaves sometimes light red soon becoming green. Corollas: dark red.

  • Discussion

    Local names and uses: Arriba y abajo, cinco dedos, frailecillo, kuahyer, muñequilla, purga del fraile, quelite del fraile, tatua, and tede abuela. Widely used for medicinal purposes. In Oaxaca, Mexico, decoctions of leaves are drunk for stomachache (J. V. Santos 2433 (MICH). In Costa Rica, it is used to cure ulcers and is soaked in water, which is drunk once every 24 hours, for treatment of kidney problems (Weston et al. 3970). In Nicaragua, it is used for treatment of kidney problems (Stevens & Krukoff 13230 (MO). In his Gardeners Dictionary, Miller (1768) noted that seeds of both J. curcas and J. staphysagrifolia had been used as purgatives by inhabitants of the West Indies, but they operate so violently (in reference to gasterointestinal distress) that now they are seldom used. “Three or four of these nuts have worked downward and upward near 40 times.” He further noted that these plants were used in fomentations (warm, moist, medical compresses at the site of injury). The English vernacular name "bellyache bush” is an apparent reference to its use as a purgative and for abdominal disorders.

    This variety at times has been erroneously identified and annotated as var. elegans based on Pax’s (1910) description. Both Müller Argoviensis (1866) and Pax (1910) cited several West Indian collections for J. gossypiifolia var. staphysagrifolia, but they also cited and annotated dissimilar Central and South American specimens as this taxon. This best illustrates the difficulty in taxonomic treatment of the species. The neotype is assigned here because it represents a good example of the variety in Mesoamerica and northern South America.

  • Distribution

    From Mexico to Panama, south to northern departments of Colombia, all of Ecuador, and northern Venezuela, where some specimens are also similar to those of the Caribbean.

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