Flora of North America species comparison

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Jatropha dioica

leatherstem, limberbush, sangre de drago, sangregado
Habit Subshrubs, to 1 m, dioecious, rhizomatous, often forming colonies.
Stems

spreading, reddish brown (when actively growing) or red to dark red or grayish (when dormant), much-branched, rubbery-succulent, glabrous; short shoots common;

latex watery, colorless to cloudy-whitish in fast growing shoots, blood red in basal portion of older shoots and rhizomes.
Leaves

deciduous, fascicled on short shoots;

stipules deciduous, linear, 1–2 mm, undivided;

petiole 0–0.2 cm, not stipitate-glandular;

blade linear-spatulate to narrowly obovate, 1.5–5(–7) × 0.2–0.7 cm, usually unlobed, sometimes shallowly, rarely deeply, 3-lobed, base attenuate, margins entire, apex rounded, membranous, surfaces glabrous;

venation pinnate (palmate if lobed).
Inflorescences

terminal or axillary, fascicles;

peduncle absent;

bracts absent.
Pedicels

1–2.5 mm.
Staminate flowers

sepals distinct or connate basally, ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 2.5–3 × 1.2–1.4 mm, margins entire, apex acute, abaxial surface hairy, adaxial glabrous;

corolla white to pinkish white, urceolate-tubular, petals connate most of length, 5–6 × 1.4–1.5 mm, abaxial surface sparsely puberulent abaxially, adaxial glabrous;

stamens 10 in 2 whorls (5 + 5);

filaments of both whorls connate from 1/5–3/4+ length, outer whorl 2–3 mm, inner whorl 3–5 mm.
Pistillate flowers

resembling staminate;

carpel 1;

style 2.5–3 mm.
Capsules

ellipsoidal, 1.2–1.4 × 1.1–1.3 cm, tardily dehiscent.
Seeds

solid gray-brown, spheric, 12 mm diam.;

caruncle rudimentary.
2n

= 44.

Jatropha dioica
Distribution
from FNA
TX; n Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

R. McVaugh (1945b) recognized two varieties in Jatropha dioica based primarily on leaf shape; the two are not readily recognizable and probably hybridization between them has resulted in intermediate populations, as McVaugh noted. The varieties are treated here with some reservation.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blades oblanceolate to narrowly obovate, 3.5–5(–7) cm; sepals distinct; stamen filaments connate 3/4+ length; petals pinkish white.
var. dioica
1. Leaf blades linear-spatulate, 1.5–2.5 cm; sepals connate basally; stamen filaments connate to 1/4 length; petals white.
var. graminea
Source FNA vol. 12, p. 204.
Parent taxa Euphorbiaceae > Jatropha
Sibling taxa
J. canescens, J. cardiophylla, J. cathartica, J. cuneata, J. curcas, J. gossypiifolia, J. integerrima, J. macrorhiza, J. multifida
Subordinate taxa
J. dioica var. dioica, J. dioica var. graminea
Name authority Sessé: Gaz. Lit. México 3(suppl.): 4. (1794)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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