Jatropha curcas
Origin: Southern Mexico
Improvement status: Wild
Seeds per packet: 10
BOTANICAL SAMPLE - NOT GERMINATION TESTED
Life cycle: Perennial
Physic nut is a euphorbia family shrub or small tree native to southern Mexico. Though all parts of the raw plant are poisonous, it also has edible uses, but is mainly grown for its powerful medicinal effects and its seed oil, which is considered a highly promising biofuel. Its utility has seen it brought into cultivation in tropical countries around the world.
As a food, the tender young shoots and leaves are eaten after steaming or stewing, but some caution is still warranted (given the plant's toxic nature). You might want to cook it in a couple boils, changing the water in between (as with pokeweed). Cooked nuts are eaten in certain regions of Mexico, where some low-or no-poison varieties have been developed, but these should still be eaten in moderation. Said to taste like beechnuts. Ashes from burning the roots and branches are used as cooking salt.
Medicinally, the plant has a mind-boggling array of uses, though it's still worth using this dangerous plant with great caution. The latex that exudes from plant wounds has antibacterial properties (including against E. coli, staph, strep, and Klebsiella pneumoniae) and is antifungal as well (including against Candida albicans, the fungus responsible for yeast infections). The juice of the bark is used against malarial fevers, to reduce inflammation, and to treat burns, scabies, eczema and ringworm. A paste made from the bark is used to treat bleeding or swollen gums. A leaf infusion is used a diuretic and against coughs. The leaves are also used against jaundice, fevers, rheumatism, and guinea worm sores. In Ghana, ashes of the burnt leaves are used to treat hemorrhoids. The juice of the leaves is applied to wounds to stop bleeding and as an astringent to clean teeth, gums, and tongue or mouth sores. The seeds are a powerful purgative, and have also been used to treat syphilis. The oil extracted from the seeds, which is called "curcas," is also a powerful purgative, and is used against herpes, eczema, boils, burns, and itches, along with rheumatism, hair loss, and parasites. The twigs are used in Nepal as toothbrushes for treating toothaches. A methanol extract of the leaves has even been found to help protect against HIV.
Plants for a Future describes myriad other uses for the plant, especially its promising biofuel: "The plant is widely cultivated in the tropics as a living fence in fields and settlements. It is not browsed by cattle; it can grow without protection; roots quickly from fairly large stems placed direct into the ground; and can be used as a hedge to protect fields. The plant makes an excellent hedge. The plant is used as a support for vanilla and other climbing crops. It has been planted in arid areas for soil-erosion control. Jatropha oil is an environmentally safe, cost-effective renewable source of non-conventional energy and a promising substitute for diesel, kerosene and other fuels. Physic nut oil was used in engines in Segou, Mali, during World War II. The oil burns without smoke and has been employed for street lighting near Rio de Janeiro. The seed contains 20 - 40% of a non-volatile oil... The oil is also used for making candles, soap and as an illuminant and to prepare varnish after calcination with iron oxides. Hardened physic nut oil could be a satisfactory substitute for tallow or hardened rice bran oil. In Europe it is used in wool spinning and textile manufacture. Along with burnt plantain ashes, oil is used in making hard homemade soap. Fruit hulls and seed shells can be used as a fuel. Dried seeds dipped into palm oil are used as torches, which will keep alight even in a strong wind. The wood was used as fuel, though of poor quality, in Cape Verde. The seed press cake cannot be used in animal feed because of its toxic properties, but it is valuable as organic manure due to a nitrogen content similar to that of seed cake from castor bean and chicken manure. The nitrogen content ranges from 3.2 to 3.8%, depending on the source. Tender branches and leaves are used as a green manure for coconut trees. All plant parts can be used as a green manure. Aqueous extracts of the leaves were effective in controlling Sclerotium spp., an Azolla fungal pathogen. The seed oil, extracts of the seeds, and phorbol esters from the oil have all been used to control various pests, often with successful results. In Gabon, the seeds, ground and mixed with palm oil, are used to kill rats. The oil has purgative properties, but seeds are poisonous; even the remains from pressed seeds can be fatal. Leaf juice stains red and marks linen an indelible black. The 37% tannin found in bark is said to yield a dark blue dye; latex also contains 10% tannin and can be used as marking ink. Ashes from the roots and branches are used in the dyeing industry, and pounded seeds in tanning in Ghana. The viscid juice of the plant, when beaten, foams like soapsuds. Children often blow bubbles of it with a joint of bamboo."
This India-grown seed was imported by the good folks at Sheffield's Seed in Locke, NY.
GROWING TIPS: Soak for 24 hours then plant 1" deep. Can be grown as a houseplant, but does best outdoors in USDA Zones 9-12.
NOTE: Photo of plant with lots of leaves and seeds at various stages of ripening comes from R.K. Henning of www.Jatropha.org and is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license. Image of large-scale planting in Hawaii is by Forest Starr and Kim Starr and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, permitting sharing, adaptation, and commercial use with attribution. All others are in the public domain.
