Cnidoscolus

• Authority

  Maguire, Bassett. 1967. The botany of the Guayana Highland--Part VII. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 17: 1-439.

• Family

  Euphorbiaceae

• Scientific Name

  Cnidoscolus

• Description

  Genus Description - Differs from Jatropha in lack of petals, and most importantly in a heavy cover of sharp, stinging hairs; otherwise, closely related to it. Cnidoscolus is confined for the most part to the neotropics but reaches northward as far as Texas and Virginia. It is closely related to Jatropha, from which it is derived by specialization.