Jatropha cinerea (Ortega) Müll.Arg.

  • Authority

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

  • Family

    Euphorbiaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Jatropha cinerea (Ortega) Müll.Arg.

  • Type

    Type: Mexico, s.d., J. A. Pavón s.n. (holotype: G; photos of holotype: DAV, F, MICH, MO, UC).

  • Synonyms

    Mozinna cinerea Ortega, Loureira cinerea (Ortega) Cav.

  • Description

    Species Description - Shrubs or rarely small trees, 1-4 m tall, dioecious. Stems: brownish yellow to white, smooth, erect, much-branched, short shoots present but not numerous; latex clear, viscous. Leaves: semievergreen to deciduous, borne on nodes and short shoots, stipules reduced to inconspicuous, sessile glands, petioles pinkish, 2.5-8 cm long and 0.7-1.2 mm in diam., mostly glabrous; blades heteromorphic, cordate-ovate, unlobed or distinctly but shallowly 3(-5)-lobed, 3.8-13 x 4-10.5 cm, ± coriaceous, base broadly cordate, margins entire or minutely puberulent, apex rounded to broadly acute, venation palmate with 3-5 primary veins, glabrous adaxially but densely cinereous-tomentose abaxially. Inflorescences: terminal on branches or on short shoots, staminate many-branched, few-flowered cymes, pistillate solitary or few-flowered, peduncles 3-7 cm long, bracts small, 2.2-3 mm long, densely cinereous; pedicels 3-7 mm long. Staminate flowers: sepals lanceolate-elliptic, 2-3.5 x 0.9-1.4 mm, connate ¼ length, margins entire, apex acute, tomentose abaxially, glabrous adaxially; corollas tubular, pink to light red on adaxial side, whitish on abaxial, petals oblanceolate, 5-6 x 2-3 mm, apex emarginate, glabrous adaxially and pubescent at apex abaxially, reflexed; stamens 10, monadelphous-biseriate (5 + 5), filaments of outer series 3-3.5 mm long and connate to ¼ of length, those of inner series 1.7-2 mm and connate to ½ of length. Pistillate flowers: like staminate but sepals 3-4 x 1-1.5 mm, distinct, lanceolate; petals 5.5-7.5 x 1.5-2.5 mm, connate at base; carpels 2 (-3), styles 1 mm, connate to ca. ½ of length. Capsules: 1 x 2-2.7 cm, transversely ellipsoid and distinctly bilobed (rarely trilobed), tardily dehiscent. Seeds: gray marked with red or brown spots, broadly ovoid to spherical, 1-1.3 cm in diam, caruncle vestigial.

  • Discussion

    Local names and uses. Lombol, lomboy, sangre de drago, and torotito. Latex is applied to sores and chappe lips [A. Carter 2300 (MICH, UC)] and employed in treating chills [H. S. Gentry 5422 (CAS, GH, MICH,

    MO, NY, RSA)]. Latex is also used for hardening gums and as a remedy for warts, sore throat, and hemorrhoids, and a decoction is used as a mordant in dyeing. Latex leaves a permanent dark color on clothes after washing [R. Moran 11891 (CAS, UC)], as is the case with all other Jatropha species (pers. obs.). Also, see Kane (2006) on use of jatrophas as herbal medicine.

    See discussion below concerning the identities of Jatropha cinerea, J. canescens, and J. giffordiana. It is difficult to distinguish between Jatropha cinerea and J. canescens in some of the specimens collected in Arizona and elsewhere.

    Distribution and Ecology: Widely distributed in Arizona, the Sonoran Desert, Sonora, and to a much smaller extent in Sinaloa; also found throughout Baja California and Baja California Sur, Mexico. It occurs in varied soil types including heavy clay soil of coastal plains, bottomlands, and slopes; mesquite grassland; and margins of sandy washes, near sea level to ca. 500 m. Flowering and fruiting from early spring to summer, primarily during active growth in rainy season.

  • Distribution

    Sinaloa Mexico North America| Sonora Mexico North America| Baja California Mexico North America| Mexico North America|