Plant Name
Scientific Name: Jatropha macrorhiza
Common Names: Ragged Nettlespurge, Ragged Jatropha
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Upland. This wildflower can be found growing in grasslands and in oak-juniper woodlands.
Flower Color: Pale pink, White
Flowering Season: Summer. This plant blooms after the summer monsoon rains have begun.
Height: To 20 inches (51 cm) tall
Description: The flowers have 5 oval petals and are followed by large seed capsules with 3 seeds. The leaves have ragged, irregularly-toothed margins and are green, fleshy, alternate, and palmately-lobed with 5 to 7 main lobes. The stems are green, fleshy, and will ooze clear sap if broken. The root is an enlarged, potato-like tuber.
Special Characteristics
Poisonous – The plants and especially the seeds are poisonous and contain the potentially fatal phytotoxin curcin (similar to the deadly ricin) and a purgative oil that causes severe vomiting. Children are the most susceptible to this plant's toxins. Although the tuberous roots look like potatoes and taste sweet, they are also poisonous.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Euphorbiales
Family: Euphorbiaceae – Spurge family
Genus: Jatropha L. – nettlespurge
Species: Jatropha macrorhiza Benth. – ragged nettlespurge
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